CRAIG CLAY reckons this could finally be the year to follow in the footsteps of his hero Steven Gerrard and Kop a winners’ medal.

The Motherwell midfielder has been starved of cup success as a player, instead living his silverware dreams through his Liverpool idols.

Now on the verge of his first ever Scottish Cup campaign at Fir Park with a visit to face Rangers on the horizon tomorrow, the 24-year-old is desperate to lift a trophy above his head in May at Hampden.

He said: “I’ve been a Liverpool fan all my life. My dad’s always supported them and Steven Gerrard has always been my idol.

“I’ve been to a few games at Anfield but I’ve never made it to a cup final with them.

“I’ve not been too far into cup competitions if I’m being honest. I think at Chesterfield the best team we came up against was Middlesbrough. I remember scoring against Hartlepool but that was about it.

“Here, I think that can change. This could be our year.

“We have done a lot of work this week going into the Rangers game so we know what we’ve to do to try and stop them and what we need to do to give ourselves the best chance.

“If we can put in a good performance on Saturday then I don’t see why we can’t go all the way.”

Many Motherwell fans hoped last year would finally be the time their long wait for Scottish Cup success came to an end.

Instead, they are now 26 years on from that historic day where Tommy McLean’s Steelmen beat Dundee United 4-3 in extra-time to bring the cup back to Fir Park for only the second time in the club’s history.

Back in 1991, Motherwell beat Celtic in the semi-finals to become heroes, and Clay has faith in the current group to overcome the other half of the Old Firm this time around.

“To say they haven’t won the trophy for that long is surprising,” he said.

“It would be great to go all the way this year and write our names into the history books.

“We’ve got the team to go and do something so why not?”

Clay has already experienced the Ibrox atmosphere this term. Back in August Mark McGhee’s men were just pipped 2-1 in the dying seconds after stunning the home crowd with a Scott McDonald first half strike.

The midfielder takes heart from that afternoon, insisting going one better now is far from beyond the rejuvenated Motherwell team, fresh from a winter break’s rest.

“I went back on the 2nd to go and see my family,” he said. “It’s good to get back as I’d not been back down the road since September. It’s been a good few months.

“Having said that, after a couple of days I didn’t know what to do with myself. Everyone was back at work, I think I just wanted to get back to training!

“The atmosphere at Ibrox exceeded my expectations to be honest. It was probably a little bit better than anything else. I remember walking back to the half way line after they scored and just looking at the crowd thinking ‘wow’.

“We were pretty unlucky that game. At minimum we should have had a draw and that gives us confidence going into this weekend.

“We have the belief we can go and get something from the game. We are looking forward to it.”