Jack Baird spent a decade at St Mirren and took his first professional footballing steps with the Buddies.
But the towering centre half insists his only thought is on dumping his boyhood club out of the fourth round of the Scottish Cup tomorrow.
Baird, now at Ayr United, will bid to help Lee Bullen's side into the last 16 of the competition when they welcome Jim Goodwin's men to Somerset Park.
And the stopper, who came through the ranks in Paisley from the age of 14, is adamant there will be no time for sentiment when he lines up for the black and white of Ayr.
He said: "I had a good time at St Mirren and owe a lot to them.
"They gave me my debut and I have a lot of good memories there.
"I won the league with them and played in the Premier there and I appreciate what they did for me.
"But I'll treat this like any other game."
More than 2,000 Saints fans are expected to pack into Somerset and create a cracking cup-tie atmosphere.
And although they'll outnumber the home support, Baird says it's just good to have supporters back in good numbers.
He admitted: "It will be good just to have fans in the ground in general. You appreciate the big atmosphere compared to the 500 of recent games.
"The boys are all looking forward to it.
"Playing in front of the smaller crowds has been difficult but you just need to go into your own wee world and focus on what you're doing in the game.
"I feel we've got a decent chance – we'll be the underdogs and it will be on them to come and beat us."
And Baird, who was released by Buddies gaffer Jim Goodwin while at Saints, admits he still has plenty of respect for what the Irishman has achieved in Paisley.
He said: "When I was younger and coming through at St Mirren I liked the way Jim played, both at centre-half and in midfield.
"He was aggressive and I liked that.
"He's taken the same approach to management and is a good motivator.
"Since Jim's taken over they've done well – they were unlucky to miss out on the top six last season and we know what we'll get tomorrow, they'll be very hard to beat."
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