Being given the captain’s armband topped off a “dream season” for St Johnstone midfielder Chris Millar.
But the Perth player of the year will be more than happy if he has to give it at back when the next campaign gets underway – hopefully in the Europa League.
Because that will mean regular skipper Dave Mackay has made a full recovery from hip surgery.
“Getting fourth with that win up in Aberdeen rounded off a dream season for me,” Millar admitted. “It was the best of my career in terms of my own form.
“It was even more special because I was wearing the captain’s armband.
“The gaffer gave it to me for the match with Celtic with Dave Mackay getting ready for his hip operation.
“It was a real honour, a first for me. I was bursting with pride saluting our fans at the end.
“And I can say we are undefeated with me as skipper! Two games, no losses, against the top two teams.
“Being captain is special, although we’ll all be delighted to see Cuptie back next season.”
Watching a cup final with Saints’ European place at stake is nothing new for Millar.
And he’s hoping for as stress free an afternoon as when Hearts and Hibs squared up in 2012.
“We’ve been here before,” he recalled. “It will be like a few years ago when we were hoping for a Hearts win in the final with Hibs, knowing that would get us into Europe under Steve Lomas.
“That one wasn’t too nerve-racking because of the way the score went that day.
“We did our job against Aberdeen thanks to Kano’s first goal for the club and now we are all keeping an eye on the cup final and hoping for an Inverness win.
“I’ve pals coming up from Liverpool this weekend so we will have to find a sports bar in Glasgow to watch the game, whether they want to or not.”
The former Morton man added: “If Inverness win their first cup, like we did last season, it will get us into the Europa League for the fourth year in a row which is amazing for a club like St Johnstone.
“I know we talk about the priority here being avoiding relegation every season but I look to be making the top six now.
“We were pushing for third there but the league table doesn’t lie. We were the fourth best team in the country and that is good going.
“Europe would be the icing on the cake of another successful season.
“We were undefeated after the split, beating Dundee, Inverness and Aberdeen and drawing with Dundee United and Celtic.
“We had a great run in, losing just two of the last 13 games. That was impressive and we have put ourselves in contention.”
A mid-June return to pre-season would be the up-shot of an Inverness win tomorrow, and Millar will be hoping to sweet-talk his manager into a slightly later training start date.
“If we do get into the Europe again I will be on the phone to the gaffer asking for a bit of leeway with the holidays,” he said.
“I’ll be hoping he will play ball and give me a couple of extra days before we come back in for training. The family holiday has been booked for a while now.
“I’ll remind him he was good about it last summer and it worked for me. I have never been more consistent.”