TREVOR Carson has now seen both sides of what a career in football can offer.

As recently as three years ago, the Motherwell goalkeeper considered throwing in the towel on his dreams of making it big after dropping out of League Two with Cheltenham Town and struggling from being so far from his daughter Kateiya in Newcastle.

Carson’s decision to stick to his guns was justified on Sunday, when his career resurrection was completed as he kept a clean sheet to help the Steelmen to a magnificent 2-0 semi-final win over Rangers that secured a place in November’s Betfred Cup final.

His experience isn’t unique in Stephen Robinson’s squad, with the likes of Charles Dunne, Andy Rose, Peter Hartley and Gael Bigirimana also featuring at Hampden having arrived from England’s lower leagues a matter of months ago.

But the 29-year-old was sure to use ‘Well’s remarkable triumph as an opportunity to reflect on the bad times, in order to fully appreciate the scale of this achievement so early in his Fir Park career.

“There have been a lot of low moments,” he said. “When I was at Cheltenham and I’d separated from my ex, my daughter was up in Newcastle and there were times when I thought I was going to jack it in.

“That’s the god’s honest truth, because I was so far away from her and at times I wondered was it worth it. But I just dug in and stuck it out and first and foremost I made sure I was a good dad to her and made the effort to go up and see her.

“We got relegated that season and took a big step back. I’ll be forever grateful to (former Hartlepool manager) Ronnie Moore for bringing me up to the north east again. Cheltenham as well were fantastic and let me walk away from a year’s contract just to be up with her.

“She was here tonight. It was brilliant, but as I say it seemed a million miles away four or five years ago.

“She’s five next week so that’s her birthday present! The scooter’s going back to Argos to get my money back.”

He added: “I shuttle to and from Newcastle three nights a week. It was quite raw at that time so my main focus was to build the bond with her. It’s not all glamorous. But that was my lowest moment and this is by far the highest.”

With 13 new players arriving in the summer after a season of flirting with the threat of relegation, it is safe to say there weren’t many outside Fir Park tipping Motherwell to start the new season in the confident manner they have.

A cup final has been booked, a top three spot is in their sights and Carson believes the ethos of boss Robinson should receive the credit as ‘Well continue to defy the odds.

When asked if he could have imagined this when he signed, the goalkeeper replied: “That’s how the gaffer sold it to me.

“It’s alright on paper but putting it into practice is unbelievable. I don’t actually think that it’s any less than what we deserve, we’ve earned it. Since the first game this season it’s been pure hard work and determination and it gets you a long way.

“(Robinson) certainly didn’t say ‘you’re coming here for a relegation battle’, he sold it to all the lads whenever we were coming that he wanted to build an ethos at the club of hard work, which gets you a long way in football. It’s been brilliant, it’s been a dream so far.”