THERE aren’t many at Fir Park who are used to lifting silverware. Perhaps wee Morag the cleaner when she’s doing a bit of dusting in the board room.

Twenty six years have come and gone – slowly – since Motherwell last paraded a trophy through the streets of the steel town, the memories of an open-top bus wading through a sea of claret and amber at the top of Hamilton Road consigned to memories and dusty VHS tapes.

However, there are a couple who frequent the home dressing room buried within the Phil O’Donnell Stand – a man who played and scored in THAT Scottish Cup final against Dundee United in 1991 – who know the feeling of lifting a cup at Hampden draped in club colours.

On April 27 last year, a vibrant and talented Motherwell U20 team blew away Hearts 5-2 at the national stadium, securing the gong for the first time in the club’s history.

Included in that squad was first-team regular Chris Cadden and also Allan Campbell, a combative central midfielder who at the time was virtually unknown to most away from Fir Park.

Now a key part of Stephen Robinson’s first team that will take on Aberdeen on Thursday night in a bid to reach the last four of the Betfred Cup, the 19-year-old is filled with optimism that history could repeat itself this year.

“Having played under Craggs and now the gaffer, they both have that winning mentality,” said Campbell of Stephen Craigan, the u20 head coach.

“I remember when I was younger Craggs had that mindset to go and win. He gave you that bite about you and made you think ‘we can actually go and do this’.

“The gaffer is the same. He believes in us that we can go and win this cup and bring some silverware back to Fir Park.

“We have a good structure and there’s a lot of desire. We all play for each other.

“I have played with Cadds in the U20s and won the Youth Cup with him so I’m good pals with him. It’s good to play alongside him. You then have Carl McHugh, the guys at the back and Moulty [Louis Moult] up front, they are good experienced players to talk you through the game.”

While Carl McHugh has taken the captain’s armband off the retiring Keith Lasley, it has been Campbell who has really stepped into the now assistant manager’s shoes.

The veteran was never one to shy away from putting himself about, and his young protégé has got stuck in since throwing himself into the first team. That was evident on Saturday when he stuck to his task superbly at trying to nullify John McGinn in the 2-2 draw at Easter Road.

“It was good experience for me especially going behind and coming back,” he said. “It was a good point but we are unlucky not to get the win. There were so many positives.

“I know with the squad we have that we will keep going right until the end. We’ve had a few games where we’ve been tested we’ve always come back. It shows you the depth of squad we have. Look at Tanns [Craig Tanner], Bigi [Gael Bigirimana] and Grimmy [Liam Grimshaw] all coming on at Easter Road and making a difference.

“The gaffer has given me a chance and has put his trust in me. I need to do my best because I know there are people knocking on the door trying to get my place.”

Looking forward to Thursday’s visit of Aberdeen and the prospect of winning a senior trophy for the first time in a generation, Campbell added: “The club need that. Why can’t we go and beat Aberdeen on Thursday?

“We showed against Hibs in the last half hour we should have won. We have the team to go out there and beat Aberdeen and make it into the semi-finals.

“We have been unlucky in the last few years but with the team we have now I’m confident we can get a good run and hopefully through to the semis and then the final.”