It has been 35 years since Greenock Morton last graced the stage provided by a national cup semi-final, and two years longer since they last played one at Hampden Park.

The barren decades since will be forgotten next Saturday though, as the Cappielow men once again strut their stuff at the national stadium against Aberdeen in the League Cup semi-final.

Excitement in Greenock has reportedly built to levels not seen since Andy Ritchie scored from the half-way line against Dundee United rather than expend the effort required to run in on Hamish McAlpine.

Warren Hawke, the former Cappielow midfielder and current director, has urged everyone with a connection to Morton to get along on the day and make it an occasion that lives long in the memory.

And who knows? This generation of Morton players may just be set to join the likes of Hawke and Ritchie in the eternal affections of the supporters.

“There’s a real buzz about Inverclyde,” Hawke said. “We’ve seen that around the ground and everyone is talking about the semi-final.

“To make it through is amazing. It's been a long time, and there are a lot of supporters out there who weren’t born the last time we were in a semi-final.

“From the kudos of actually being there, and having the chance to showcase ourselves against an established top-tier team like Aberdeen, it's a fantastic opportunity for the club and it should be a fantastic day out.

“We didn’t get our tickets until Friday afternoon, so we started selling them right away and there’s been a clamour for them.

“I’m not saying we’re going to sell out Hampden, but I’d expect between 6000 and 8000. If we could more than that, then what an occasion it would be.

“People are still talking about the semi-final of 35 years ago, so imagine what it would be like if the score went the other way. The players have the chance to make themselves Morton legends.”

Morton’s chairman and owner of confectionary company Golden Casket, Douglas Rae, has been a supporter of the side for over 70 years.

He swapped the terraces for the boardroom in 1988, before dipping into his sweetie jar to save the club from liquidation in 2001. For Hawke, the club quite simply wouldn’t exist without Rae’s benevolence.

The semi-final is of course a just reward for the long-suffering supporters who have stuck by the club, and a validation of the stellar work being done by manager Jim Duffy and his players.

But according to Hawke, the Greenock side’s day in the sun belongs to their chairman more than anyone else, and he hopes it will suitably honour his contribution.

“From day one of my involvement with the club, Douglas Rae invested in me as a player, and I don’t think I let him down during that period,” Hawke said.

“Now I have a knowledge and understanding that I want to assess Douglas Rae and leaving a legacy for the football club.

“If it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t have a club. He stepped in at our darkest time, and that’s something we will all be forever grateful for. If I can assist him in taking us to the next level, which I feel we can, that’s everything that I can do from my role on the board. I know that my fellow directors feel the same way.

“Having a financial gain such as this gives you that breathing space. It’s no secret that the club has been losing money and certainly the Raes have been putting their hands in their pockets to make sure that the club is on a financial footing over previous seasons."

The legacy that Hawke mentions will be rooted in the work he is doing as chief executive of the Morton Community Trust.

The trust has recently been awarded the title of “Best Professional Club in the Community” at the Scottish Football Association Grassroots Awards, an accolade Aberdeen picked up in 2015.

Hawke is keen to emphasise that community angle to the semi-final, and is effusive over the Trust’s importance to the future of Morton.

He said: “When I came back to the club five years ago I had a meeting with Douglas and I said 'look, we’ve got an abundance of talent in Inverclyde, let us develop a youth academy and make it one the club is proud of.'

“It doesn’t happen overnight, but quite quickly we've had players break into the first-team, and it is all from the foundation we put in place five years ago.

"It is a long-term vision that the board and the Raes bought into back then. I’m very privileged to be able to assist all the board of directors in getting us to where we want to be.

“That is long-term stability of the club in a competitive position on the park, and with all of the various departments pushing in the same direction.”