Steven Lawless sets sights on big cup run
Steven Lawless aims to complete his Scottish football bucket list by dragging Partick Thistle all the way to Hampden.
The Jags midfielder is now into his sixth year in Maryhill but the only time he has run out at the National Stadium was to take on Queen's Park.
However, he hopes to sample the Hampden roar for real this term by helping his side embark on a run to the latter stages of the William Hill Scottish Cup.
Having experienced playing in front of sell-out crowds at Celtic Park and Ibrox, the 26-year-old confessed his dreams will go unfulfilled if he does not taste the atmosphere of a big semi-final or final on the slopes of Mount Florida.
Thistle kick-off their bid away to fourth-round opponents Queen of the South on Saturday and Lawless says he will have no bother putting Jags' Ladbrokes Premiership troubles to one side as he focuses on trying to fulfill one of his ambitions.
`The cups are still important, especially for me as we've not managed to reach a semi-final or a final in my time here,'' said the Firhill playmaker.
`So every year I look to the cups hoping to have one of those big runs and get to Hampden so we can give the fans and ourselves that big day out.
`I definitely don't want to go through my full career without playing at Hampden in front of a big crowd.
`Most boys growing up will have dreamed of playing in the big games in the big stadiums. If you're from Scotland it's places like Parkhead, Ibrox and Hampden that come to mind.
`I've done the other two and now I need to try to get to Hampden so I can tick it off the list.
`I have played at Hampden with Thistle and also when I was at Albion Rovers but that was against Queen's Park. I even scored with Rovers there but it's not the same when there's only 500 folk watching.
`I'll be able to tell the kids I've scored at Hampden in later years but I'll just not mention there was hardly anybody there. Hopefully I'll do it for real this year.'
Alan Archibald's side have been boosted by the return of defenders Callum Booth and Mustapha Dumbuya as well as skipper Abdul Osman following long-term lay-offs ahead of their Dumfries trip.
And Lawless believes the captain's comeback will be a major boost.
He said: `It's great to have the boys back. Abdul will be important. If you've watched us this season you'll see we've missed having a natural sitter in the team, someone who is not interested in going forward.
`We've been caught on the counter attack a couple of times this season and if you asked the guys who have been filling in in that deep midfield slot, they will admit that's not their natural position.
`So it will be good to have Abdul back.'