Twenty years ago today, Jimmy Nicholl was manager of Raith Rovers and was pre-occupied with masterminding how his team could topple the mighty Celtic in the Coca-Cola Cup final later in the month.
Two decades on, history tells us that Rovers went on to lift the League Cup on a memorable Sunday at Ibrox and that Nicholl has rightly taken some time this week to reflect on what was undoubtedly a career high.
The Northern Irishman was reunited with members of that trophy-winning Rovers squad on Monday as they were inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in Kirkcaldy, and was able to share stories with the men who went down in Scottish football folklore after their penalty shoot-out triumph.
Nevertheless, Nicholl now boss of Cowdenbeath is back doing his homework ahead of this weekend’s return to Stark’s Park as he aims to lift his Blue Brazil off bottom spot in the Championship.
And, despite being taken on a trip down memory lane as the 20-year anniversary of Rovers’ cup win approaches on November 27, he insists that sentiment will go out of the window when Saturday comes.
“It was a great night on Monday and, honest to God, I love going to these things because you find out a lot of things you didn’t know even though you were a part of it,” he said of this week’s celebrations in the Lang Toun.
“There were obviously highs and lows there as well because Ronnie Coyle’s family was there and Ian Redford’s family was there, but it was a good night and the organisers do it really well.
“I can’t believe it has been 20 years and it just goes to show that you’ve got to make the most of it.
“Kids come in to Cowdenbeath at the age of 16 and they train for an hour-and-a-half, maybe two-and-a-half hours, and you tell them to make sure they do things properly because it’ll be gone before they know it.
“As soon as anything you are 26 and then you are 36 and then you are finished.
“It was the same when I was younger a senior pro came up to me when I was 15 and told me the exact same thing and I was like: “No chance.”
“But all of a sudden I was 30 and wondering where the time went.
“So it was nice to relive some memories the other night and it’s a time that will always stay with me.
“All the current Raith Rovers players were there, and obviously (Raith manager) Grant Murray and Laurie Ellis, and then me and big Davie Narey walk in.
“I remember saying at the time I felt like we were Jack and Victor!
“So it was a great night and brought back some great memories, but I go to Stark’s Park on Saturday as manager of Cowdenbeath and we’ve got a job to do.
“It’ll be a case of us trying to make amends, not just for the first half against Hibs on Saturday but for the 3-1 game at Central Park earlier in the season.
“But we’ve done reasonably well at Stark’s Park since I’ve been here, so we’ll be looking for more of the same.”
Cowden head along the A92 this weekend having lost their last three league games, although Rovers themselves are not in the best of form and are without a win in six league fixtures.
Something has to give when the teams line up at Stark’s Park on Saturday, and Nicholl is out for revenge after Cowden’s disappointing defeat to their rivals at Central Park on August 30.
“I didn’t like the fact we lost 3-1 at home to them at the start of the season and it’s still something I can’t put my finger on,” he continued.
“It was one of four home games we had to begin with and we lost three of them. In fact we only took a point from our first six league games and it’s still something I look back on and ask: “Why was it like that?”
“But I think we’re a lot better now and we’ve got goals in the team now, so hopefully we can prove it on Saturday.”