Former Hearts star relieved to banish pain of Jambos cup final with silverware prize at latest club

A former Hearts star remembers the cup final losses more than the wins - but silverware was still a chance to right some wrongs of the past.

Alongside a host of other ex-Jambos and current Hearts midfielder Maculay Tait, Danny Wilson was part of the Livingston side that beat Queen’s Park 5-0 in Sunday’s SPFL Trust Trophy final. Wilson won the Championship with Hearts earlier in his career but also lost a League Cup final in maroon to St Mirren.

He was also part of the Rangers side that lost to Hibs in 2016’s Scottish Cup final. Those days sting for years afterwards but now with attention turning to their promotion push in the Championship, Wilson is delighted to add another trophy to his collection.

Former Hearts star banishes Jambos pain

The defender said: "I'm really happy. Any time you're in a cup final, you just do whatever you can to win. I've been in cup finals when I've not won and the feeling stays with you longer than the ones you do win. It's really nice to win and get as many goals as we did.

“I thought the first 20-odd minutes were a little bit cagey. Both teams were just feeling each other out a wee bit. There's always moments during games like that chance. If that goes in, it's a different story. But we managed to get the goal to put us ahead. We've had quite a tough time against Queen's Park this season in the head-to-head games. It's always been us chasing the game. But we managed to get our noses in front this time.

"The second goal was really important and then we made a point at half-time, saying the next goal was always going to be a big one. It ended up arriving quite quickly for us. I thought we showed a good level of professionalism for most of the game to make sure we did the right things at the right times. We were pretty good value for the victory overall. It's a really important moment for the club. In all competitions since I've been here, we've given everything in all of them.

League ambition

Wilson added: "We've tried to put our best foot forward playing in every competition we've been in. We've won this trophy, but I've been in football a long time now and you think these moments are going to come around every single season. The fact is they don't. We need to enjoy it, but we're still looking forward.

"The title is still very much in Falkirk's hands and we can only do what we can do. Unfortunately for us, if we'd done what we should have done better at points this season we would be even closer to them. Perhaps even level or ahead of them. The fact of it is, we haven't. We need to take care of these final six games in the league and then we'll see what happens. It's been an issue for us that we haven't capitalised when they've dropped points. We've got to put as many on the board between now and the end of the season and see where it takes us."