ALL TALK of the "luck of the Irish" is best suspended in conversation with Richie Foran, especially when he considers the bitter-sweet experiences engendered by cup football.
The term "third time lucky"? Well that's a different story. When it comes to the well-worn sayings and cliches, that's one the Inverness Caledonian Thistle midfielder will quite happily embrace ahead of today's Alba Cup final against Dundee at McDiar
mid Park.
The Dubliner's standing in the Scottish game was lofty enough to attract serious SPL interest in the summer after Caley Thistle's drop to the First Division but the 29-year-old shunned the higher league and the comparative riches on offer for a more modest return to Inverness. The reasons lie somewhere between a genuine affection for the club and town adopted in January and a lasting rapport with his old Motherwell mentor, Terry Butcher.
When he speaks of his guilt over Caley Thistle's demise last season, and his failed efforts to prevent it, there is no doubting the conviction in his eyes. Foran, in short, spent the close season considering the advances of other clubs yet couldn't rid himself of thoughts of the one he'd just left.
The only solution to the torment was to set aside financial enticements and venture back north to the Highland capital to play his part in a promotion effort. Such honourable intent is rare enough in the modern game but the outlook is one that makes Foran's failure to win a medal throughout his senior career all the more galling. Honours in the game clearly matter more than the money to this former Gaelic footballer so today's final is one he is relishing.
Yet it's a game that pales in comparison with some of the big occasions he has been part of previously. Before 50,000 supporters at the Millennium Stadium, Foran was part of the Carlisle United side downed 2-0 by Bristol City in the 2003 final of the LDV Vans Trophy. Two years later, he reached the Scottish League Cup final with Motherwell under the current Caley Thistle boss and assistant Maurice Malpas. Again it brought the agonies, rather than the joys, of knock-out competition as the Lanarkshire club were thrashed 5-1 by Rangers at Hampden.
"I've been to a couple of cup finals in my time and although I've lost both of them, I'm hoping it will be third time lucky," Foran stressed. "Some players can go through their entire careers without winning anything, let alone getting to a cup final, so I really want a winner's medal on my CV. It would mean a lot to me and to all of the other players and staff around the club, especially since it's been a tough time since May.
"We've done so well to get to the final, beating Partick and Ross County, and I'm just hoping that the players, the management and the supporters can all have a great day out and take home the trophy."
Foran admits emotions dictated his return to the club after effectively saying his goodbyes in the traumatic aftermath of relegation. "If I'm honest, I didn't expect to be back," he said. "But I had an awful summer – a miserable time, I couldn't get what happened out of my mind. In the end, despite more lucrative offers both in Scotland and abroad, it felt right to be coming back to try to do my bit to get us back up to the SPL."
Caley Thistle go into today's encounter with confidence restored after Saturday's success at the expense of Airdrie United which erased memories of a poor derby defeat to Ross County.
"There are always going to be times this season when we'll play badly, but it was all about the three points against Airdrie and we can now go into the cup final full of confidence," he said.
"Dundee are a very strong side but we have scored a lot of goals this season and can worry most defences. Despite some difficulties, we're still sitting in a nice position in the league and now we have a cup final. Christmas is going to be a big period for us because we want to set ourselves up for kicking on. Winning the cup would be a big part of that."
