Now the experienced wide man is hoping a standout performance, in which he created Saints' opening goal, will persuade boss Danny Lennon to hand him a new deal in the summer. Teale said: "I have won two promotions in England, played in a Scotland side that beat France and played in a League Cup final down south, but this tops all of that.

"At this stage in my career I thought all these triumphs had gone and that the really big matches were a thing of the past.

"So I will savour this one, probably because I am that bit older I appreciate it more. The other factor here is that St Mirren are the heart and soul of Paisley and all last week I saw how much getting to the final meant to so many people.

"Winning this trophy and ending 26 years without silverware for the club is almost too big to put into words."

But the former Scotland star admitted a nervous start by his young team-mates almost cost Saints dear, and revealed old heads like Steven Thompson and himself had used all their experience to cajole their colleagues.

Teale said: "It was a nervy start and we did freeze a bit, and the final could have been gone for us inside the first 30 minutes. But guys like Steven Thompson, Jim Goodwin and, hopefully myself, did our bit and we got going.

"The goal just before the break to level things was crucial and, after that, even though we had to withstand pressure at the death, we never looked back and, in my opinion, we deserved the cup."

Going forward, Teale admitted he is hungry for more and desperate to sign on in the summer.

He said: "Sure I want to stay and I feel like I have proved against Celtic in the semi and in the final against Hearts that I still have plenty left in the tank when it matters most.

"We have a lot of great kids coming through, but you need your experienced heads as well, as the final showed, so hopefully the gaffer will be up for a chat.

"But I am really happy at St Mirren and I think we can kick on from here. The experience of this cup run is only going to make our kids better."