St Mirren legend Alex Smith relives 1987 Scottish Cup success and insists current crop must believe it's their time to become heroes
dailyrecord.co.ukAlex Smith knows a thing or two about lifting the Scottish Cup.The legendary former St Mirren manager wrote himself into the Paisley club’s folklore when he led a youthful, all-Scottish side to Scottish Cup glory in 1987.He went on to repeat the feat with Aberdeen just three years later, also going on to lift the League Cup with the Dons.The Scottish coaching icon still remembers that historic Saints achievement in great detail nearly 35 years later, even if the now 82-year-old finds it hard to believe so many years have passed since he and fellow Saints hero Jimmy Bone brought the famous trophy back to Paisley after toppling Dundee United 1-0 in a nerve-racking final that went all the way to extra-time.And speaking exclusively to Express Sport from his home in Brisbane, Australia, Smith is urging the current St Mirren crop to grab the opportunity to become Paisley legends by following in the footsteps of the class of 1987.He said: “Cup football is all about winning.
You don’t always have to look for great performances because that’s not always possible.“There are always moments in cup ties when you come under pressure and you have to manage the occasion and get through them.“Don’t concede early, play the game and be patient.
Don’t give away soft, silly goals from set pieces or corners.“This all sounds straight-forward, but cup football is a different animal to a normal league game.
They so often develop into a situation where it’s all about handling pressure and you need to be ready for that.“We won the final in 1987 with nine minutes to go in extra-time and United didn’t have any time to recover.
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