Playing for St Johnstone was the dream growing up.
Winning the League Cup and the Scottish Cup with his hometown team was unthinkable.
But Liam Gordon is ready to tick the next special achievement off his list of footballing landmarks by representing the club in Europe.
A mouth-watering tie awaits the Perth side in August’s Europa League third qualifying round.
All eyes will be on the July 19 draw where Saints could be paired up with the likes of PSV Eindhoven, Galatasaray, Sparta Prague or Rapid Vienna.
While that is a touch surreal for Gordon, there certainly will not be any fear.
“Joe Shaughnessy and Ally Gilchrist played against Trakai,” Gordon reflected back to Saints’ last European appearance four years ago.
“I travelled with the squad but didn’t get on the field. I wasn’t sure how close I was to playing.
“Myself, Ally and Jason Kerr were all of a similar level and stature. Even though I wasn’t involved, it was still a great experience at that age.
“Now I hopefully have an opportunity to be a part of it on the pitch. Everyone is excited.
“You see teams like Galatasaray, PSV, Sparta Prague and Rapid Vienna. These are teams I used to play on FIFA or Football Manager when I was younger. Some of their players are lighting up the Euros.
“The better players you play against, the more you learn. The chance to play them in a European game with
St Johnstone is surreal.
“But what an experience and a great opportunity for us to put ourselves out there on such a big platform in European competition.
“We’ll have no fear. That has been instilled in us by the way we play and how we are aggressive on and off the ball.
“We will obviously respect the level of opponent we’ll be facing. On paper we will be major underdogs.
“That suits us. St Johnstone have been underdogs for our whole existence. I’m happy if people continue to look at us like that. We know we’ll be up against it but we want to qualify and go through to the next round.
“We’ll embrace the challenge, will give 100 per cent and see where it takes us. As I say, what a platform to show everyone what we can do.”
Gordon, during his time as a fan supporting the club from the stands, knows better than most how special the atmosphere can be on a European night in Perth.
“I’m hoping by the time the European games come round we can get fans at McDiarmid Park,” he said. “We’re craving that. We’ll get a lot of minutes under the belt before Europe.
“It’s great that we have an extra two or three weeks this time and we’ll also have a league game first.
“You get the competitive edge and mindset that we will need for the European games.
“Some might never get an opportunity like this again. Hopefully we can keep hold of all our players.”
The buzz from completing the cup double just last month will carry through into next season and the European adventure.
Gordon, who is from the Fair City, admits he is still getting stopped on his local shopping trips.
“About Perth there have been plenty of nice messages from everyone,” he told the PA.
“My missus was raging with me because I took so long coming back from the local Co-op when I went out to get rice.
“I was about half an hour getting away from the shop because I met three or four fans.
“It’s amazing to see the reaction and impact you can have on people’s lives. People that you don’t even know.
“It is really heartwarming for us. For me being a local lad, it is maybe a wee bit more special.
“Everyone around the city is in such great spirits and for us to be the reason for that is amazing.
“To do the double is something I don’t think anyone will ever really believe happened. It’s not sunk in for me.
“I see things every now and then about it when I’m having a quiet moment. Maybe the two trophies together. I just shake my head.
“It is still pretty crazy and surreal after winning the cups.
“I was in the town on the Sunday after the Scottish Cup win and the fans were thanking us and congratulating the team.
“You could see what it meant on their faces. All of these people of different ages.
“There’s the younger generation who have had the glory years and the older ones who remember losing to Clydebank on a Tuesday night.”
While there was plenty of time for celebration - and will be in the future - the Saints squad is preparing for a June 28 return for pre-season training.
“The downtime has been nice to reflect on the season as a whole,” Gordon added.
“We could reflect on where we were in November to where we finished up. It’s been good to have the chance to do that.
“When we were in such good form I don’t think we wanted the season to stop.
“But a break has been nice and I think it’s been even better because we finished on such a high.
“The first couple of weeks we were advised not to do anything. It was a hard season and the body needed rest. You need to recharge the batteries.
“We were issued an off-season programme from Bod [Alex Headrick] the sports scientist and it was about easing ourselves back in.
“Each week it progresses but it’s not about hammering you. That is more what pre-season is for.
“Everyone comes back in good condition because it’s a great group of professionals.
“We have a squad that is so hard-working and willing to work for each other, while wanting the best for themselves too.”
