Andy Halliday insists seeing the class of 2012 being inducted into Hearts hall of fame was all the inspiration he needs to become a Scottish Cup legend in Gorgie himself.
Hampden heroes including David Templeton, Andy Webster, Danny Grainger and Jamie MacDonald were present at the club’s player of the year bash on Sunday as they marked a decade since their 5-1 thrashing of Hibs.
Halliday - twice a loser in the showpiece final - is now desperate to make it third time lucky on a personal level and join them in Gorgie footballing royalty.
And he’s leaving nothing to chance after taking an injection to ensure he shrugs off an ankle injury that has seen him play just 20 minutes since the semi final win over Hibs.
Halliday, who is expected to return against Motherwell on Wednesday, said: “It’s been a frustrating period.
“It’s the worst period as a footballer being injured and having to watch your team mates go out and battle every week and try to get points for the club.
“Thankfully it’s eight days since the injection now, I’m feeling pain free, so it’s just about to trying and get back out there.
“If it wasn’t for the final I’m sure the discussion would have been had with the medical staff and manager whether to get the injection. You don’t want to be getting injections every year.
“There was no chance I was going to miss out on a cup final though.
“Hearts have won it twice in the last couple of decades but we were at the player of the year awards a few nights ago and the 2012 team that won it got into the hall of fame.
“You can see how highly regarded they are to the club and the fans.
“It has to inspire you. It was 2012 and 2006, the last couple of times the club has won the Scottish Cup.
“We lost it on penalties against Celtic and we know how much that hurt and we’ve got ourselves in a position to try and go there and do it again.
“We know how much it will mean to the fans and the football club, seeing what happened to the 2012 squad the other night.
“It’s a cup I’ve been dying to win and not managed to do it yet.
“So, it will certainly mean a lot to me and something when look back on at the end of your career you remember these big games you’ve been fortunate enough to play in, like European journeys.
“But a cup winner’s medal is something that has eluded me so far in my career and I’ll be delighted if I can win it here.”
Before then Hearts close out their impressive Premiership campaign with two games at Fir Park this evening and against Rangers at Tynecastle on Saturday.
Third place may be long secured and the cup final only just over a week away but don't mention the words dead rubber to anyone connected to the Jambos.
Halliday said: "We have set our stall out the full season and people can talk about the mental side now but even when you are 15, 16 points clear in third place people keep telling you from the outside that it’s done. But we always drove ourselves to get over the line.
“We wanted to do it as quick as possible, we didn’t want to limp towards the end of the season with it still being up for grabs.
“We have done that well and even since that’s been secured we had a chat about continuing that momentum we have had through the season. We went 10 unbeaten there before losing to a really good Celtic side who will go on to win the league you would imagine.
“I had a great chat with the manager and he knows what’s expected of me until now until the end of the season.
"It’s important if you miss any period of time - and it’s been three weeks now - that you get minutes under your belt.
“It’s been a great period though for some boys who have not played as much as they would have liked. They’ve come in and shown what they can do.
“At the same time a few boys that have been playing with niggles like Kingsley and Ellis have had a rest period.
“As a player though, leading up to any big game, you want to be playing and make sure you are at your sharpest. The gaffer has done a great job giving boys opportunities and at the same time having boys ticking over.”
Halliday knows he is on the verge of something really special in the coming 10 days. But he can't help but look forward to next season and a return to the European stage too after being sold on the club and their ambitions by Neilson whilst in the Championship.
He said: "The project and the ambition the gaffer showed in any conversations we had, it was obvious we were wanting to get promoted at the first time of asking, but he always set his stall out where he wanted this club to be when we got back into the top flight. That was competing at the top end of the table, being competitive in cups and trying to get into Europe.
“The prospect of European football for any player is really exciting. We have managed to secure a couple of those targets but I’ve played in a couple of Scottish Cup Finals myself and it’s never easy to lose them.
“We have given ourselves another opportunity to try and win it."
