Former Motherwell captain Carl McHugh admits he still feels the pain of losing the 2018 Scottish Cup final with the Fir Park side.
McHugh's spell in ML1 was filled with immense highs and brutal lows. He joined the club in 2016 and left in 2019, since spending his time in India with ATK and now ATK Mohun Bagan
Two of his brightest 'Well points came at Hampden, where he led the side out in both League Cup and Scottish Cup finals against Celtic.
2-1 and 2-0 defeats were inflicted upon Stephen Robinson's memorable side and McHugh says that while it was great to reach two showpiece occasions, Scottish Cup defeat was tough to take.
Speaking on the Lanarkshire Live Sport Podcast, the 29-year-old said: "It was a brilliant achievement from the whole club to reach those finals.
"That dressing room was the best I've been involved with in football. It was unbelievable and every lad you would meet up with now for a pint.
"The first cup final we played better and the second one took me a long time to get over. That was difficult to take. Hopefully there's a time after I retire where I can look upon it fondly.
"But it's been a hard one to shake. Overall, it was a brilliant achievement when you consider how hard it is for provincial clubs to reach cup finals."
A nasty head injury away to Kilmarnock disrupted the start of McHugh's 'Well career and he took over as captain in 2017.
But a year later, he handed the armband over to teammate and long-time friend Peter Hartley. McHugh states that it was a necessary change as he came under stick for his performances.
He explained: "I did take a lot of stick. Like everyone, I had by good games and bad games but I look back on my time with the ability to say I gave it everything I had.
"I put everything into being captain and the criticism probably did have an effect. It too a long time to get over, especially after the Scottish Cup final defeat.
"I look back on it and it was the right decision. It was just a coincidence Pete took over and he was the first person I spoke to about it.
"You get a lot of criticism in football and now I am a bit older, maybe I would have been better in dealing with it. But I cared a lot and it probably did affect me a bit. Players are human and we hear everything. It does have an impact."
Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.
