Tam Scobbie may be Falkirk born and bred, but the St Johnstone defender could soon be in a position where he’ll be wanting his old club to lose the biggest game in their recent history.
Saints are on track for fourth place in the Premiership, a position that will be secured if they beat Aberdeen tomorrow or match what Dundee United can do against Dundee.
Europa League qualification will then depend on the Bairns being defeated by Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup final.
Switching allegiances for May 30 can wait though.
Scobbie’s sole focus is making sure that the Perth men are in a position to benefit from a Caley Thistle win at Hampden.
“The draw with Celtic and the Inverness win over United has put us in the driving seat for fourth place,” the former Scotland under-21 international said.
“It is all down to us to secure it.
“Whatever happens in the cup final is beyond our control but it would be great if Inverness could do us a favour.
“We are going up to Aberdeen looking for the win to cement our place.
“That means we have done our job and with a bit of luck it proves enough to get us back into Europe.
“Qualifying four times in a row for Europe really would be an incredible achievement for the club.
“It would mean a short summer break but the lads would be up for it and the fans have made the most of their trips abroad in recent seasons.”
If Saints do finish in fourth, it would book-end a season that couldn’t have started any better. It was only the bit in the middle that Scobbie won’t remember as fondly.
“It has been an up and down season for me but it is all part and parcel of football,” he said.
“It started on an amazing high when I scored the penalty which beat Luzern in the shoot-out at McDiarmid.
“That was a real buzz and I had started the season really well.
“But then I was on a downer when I had to undergo medial ligament surgery in August after breaking down in training and that put me out of action for a few months.
“What made it even harder to handle mentally was that I missed the build-up to the cup final last season after needing ankle reconstruction work. I had bounced back from that and was feeling great.
“Then I had another serious injury to contend with. But you just have to deal with it.
“The good thing was that there was plenty of the season left and that drove me on during some tough days.”
He added: “Being forced to sit out the club’s greatest day was hard to take but I was so happy for the boys when they beat United.
“Now the two teams are scrapping for that fourth place and hopefully we can come out on top again.
“I signed a new two year deal recently and that has given me security going forward. I can focus fully on my football.
“It would be a great way to end the season if we can make sure of fourth place and Inverness do us a huge favour by beating Falkirk to get us back onto Europe.”