Barry Douglas believes former team-mate Craig Conway should act as an inspiration to every player at Dundee United.
Conway, who left the Tangerines to join Cardiff City two summers ago, scored the vital goal at the weekend against Burnley that clinched the Championship title for the Welsh side.
That feat was the icing on the cake for Malky Mackay’s men who had already secured promotion to the lucrative Premier League last week.
Douglas said: “I am delighted for Craig and it just shows that you can go somewhere, do well and get into the Premiership.
“He will be buzzing and he is a good player who deserves it.
“Everybody has ambitions to play at the highest level. That is what every player should be aiming for. What Craig has done just shows all the boys what can happen if you apply yourself.
“I am sure he will be a big success in the Premiership. Cardiff are a good team and under Malky Mackay they will do well.”
It may have been a great couple of days for Conway and his City team-mates but for United, the weekend got off to the worst possible start as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat at home to Motherwell.
Not for the first time this season, the Tangerines gave themselves a mountain to climb after conceding two early goals by Michael Higdon and Henrik Ojamma in the first eight minutes.
The result left United six points behind Inverness who are sitting in third place.
However, Douglas insists the Tannadice side can still catch the Highland outfit and secure European football for the third season running.
He said: “We had another bad start on Friday but I don’t think it is a psychological thing.
“At the first goal, the space just opened up for Higdon and you’ll not see a cleaner or maybe luckier hit. The ball just sat up nicely for him.
“It could have gone anywhere but it flew into the top corner and that seems to have been the story of our season. We know we need to nullify the rubbish starts if we are to give ourselves any chance of getting into Europe.
“There is still loads to play for this season. Nothing is mathematically impossible so as far as we are concerned, we just have to take each game as it comes and try to get as many points as possible.”
From a personal point of view, there is also a lot at stake for Douglas as the season edges to its conclusion with the full-back out of contract in the summer.
He said: “The gaffer has spoken to me and talks are still ongoing so we will see what happens.
“So, the rest of the season is very important to me and I will need to continue trying my hardest to impress the gaffer.
“I would love to stay at the club but I am just concentrating on my football and will let upstairs take care of my contract.”