TWENTY-SEVEN years ago yesterday, Motherwell last won the Scottish Cup. In the eyes of their supporters, the 1991 team will always be immortal.

But while that may be true for their memory, the intervening years have sadly shown that while their legend may well live on forever, these men are flesh and bone, and just as vulnerable to the frailties and tragedies of life as anyone else.

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First, they lost Davie Cooper, the legendary left-winger who elevated that side to heights they never dreamt possible prior to his arrival. He was just 39 when he suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage in 1995. Then, in 2007, returning hero and club captain Phil O’Donnell suffered a cardiac arrest on the Fir Park pitch in a match against Dundee United and never regained consciousness. As if that loss wasn’t too much to bear, a devastating two-year period then followed with ’91 squad members Jamie Dolan and Paul McGrillen also passing away. Dolan suffered a heart attack while out jogging aged 39. In a cruel twist, he was getting himself in shape to appear in former teammate and fellow Scottish Cup-winning hero Dougie Arnott’s testimonial. McGrillen tragically took his own life in 2009, aged just 37.

Today, the remaining members of the ’91 squad will travel together to Hampden once again, carrying the memory of their fallen friends with them on the short journey up the M74. Almost unimaginably, another of their number may not have made the journey.

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Steve Kirk, the man who scored the winning goal in the final against Dundee United and who scored in every round of the tournament that year, is praying that Motherwell can lift the cup once more this afternoon. And if they do, there will be no one more grateful to witness it than the Fir Park icon.

“I had a heart scare back in 2010 when I was in Florida, and it was a really frightening time,” Kirk, now 55, said.

“I had an episode and the doctors thought it wasn’t life-threatening, but I then had another one and I have to admit, I thought that my time may be up. I ended up having emergency heart surgery.

“It was scary, and I feel so lucky to still be here, particularly as some of the other guys haven’t been so fortunate.

“You feel as though you are invincible in life, and you often hear the 1991 team being described as immortal. Unfortunately, as we all know, that is far from the case with what has happened to Davie, Phil, Jamie and Paul. Their memory will always be with us of course, but you are just a human being like anyone else.

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“My daughter is 22 now, but she was just young at the time, and it is a sobering thought when you consider what you could have missed out on.

“I’m fine now and I am thankful for every day. I appreciate things a lot more now, and Saturday will certainly be another day to savour.

“It will be great to meet up with the boys again. Obviously though, every time we do get together, it draws into focus the fact that some of the lads are no longer with us.

“We all miss them still, of course we do. But they will be in our thoughts on Saturday.”

There has been some chatter around Fir Park from those long enough in the tooth to remember Motherwell’s last Scottish Cup triumph that there is a similar feeling about the old place in the lead-up to this match.

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As was the case in ’91, Stephen Robinson’s present-day side have been written off at various stages of their journey to Hampden this afternoon, and no more so than today as they face up to the might of Celtic.

But Kirk knows that is the way that Motherwell like it. He sees the same steel running through this Motherwell team that typified his own, and he is delighted to see that identity return to the men in claret and amber.

“Nobody gave us a prayer in the semi-final against Celtic in ‘91 or the final against Dundee United,” he said.

“The Celtic game even went to a replay, and everyone said to us you only get one shot at them. But we were confident going into the game. We just had a belief that we were going to do it.

“You have to remember that in those days, Dundee United were an incredibly strong team too with fantastic players. But we just had this inner-belief that our name was on the cup, and nothing was going to stand in our way.

“We had knocked out the holders Aberdeen at Pittodrie to start off, and then we came through difficult ties against Falkirk and Morton.

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“We were the underdogs in the semi-final and the final, but that suited us. We knew what we had in the changing room, and we knew that we had the ability and the character to come through.

“This Motherwell side reminds me a lot of ours, because they have been written off a few times already along the way to the final. They beat Hearts and Aberdeen when they weren’t expected to, and now they are being written off all over again.

“Listen, we all know that Celtic are the favourites, but Stephen Robinson has this team not knowing when they are beaten. It is a Motherwell team that is true to the identity of the club, and I just hope they go out there and do themselves justice.

“Twenty-seven years is a long time, and it would be great to have this team join us in the history books.”

It doesn’t take much to transport Kirk back to that day at Hampden. You suspect a part of him has never left. There is no one better placed to tell the class of 2018 about the enormity of the opportunity that lies in front of them.

“To be honest, there isn’t a day goes by that I don’t think about the cup final,” Kirk said.

“It was such a huge moment in all of our lives, and there is no doubt that for everyone involved, our lives have been enriched by it.

“It is such a huge occasion for this Motherwell team. If I could talk to them beforehand, I would tell them that it is vital they seize their opportunity. These lads have a chance to grasp what we all have, and the opportunity to go down in the history books of the club.

“It is an honour and a privilege to still be remembered so fondly by the supporters, and if these players can lift the cup again, then I can assure them it is an incredible thing to have.

“Motherwell is still in my heart and it’s the first result I look out for, and I try to get to games whenever I can. I just love going there and it’s lovely that the fans still remember you so fondly.”