'Mighty Celtic denied me cup final glory' - Burnley lad Liam Grimshaw recalls facing the Scottish giants at Hampden Park for Motherwell

Liam Grimshaw could feel the sense of history and tradition coursing through his veins as he lined-up for Motherwell in the tunnel at the iconic Hampden Park.

Staring across at the green and white hoops of the Steelmen’s opponents, the mighty Glasgow Celtic, the Burnley-born footballer was about to take part in arguably one of the biggest showpiece events in the sporting calendar.

The English FA Cup final is arguably the most historic game of football to be played on an annual basis, perhaps only rivalled for prestige, pomp and pageantry by its Scottish namesake.

With origins in the 1870s, the FA Cup precedes its Scottish equivalent by just a couple of years – they are among the oldest knockout cup competitions in the world.

And while the advent of the modern game may have perhaps diluted the two finals’ importance somewhat, there is no mistaking their historical significance each year.

Grimshaw puffed out his chest and held his shoulders back as he strode past the SFA Cup – believed to be the oldest association football trophy in the world – alongside his team-mates onto the hallowed turf of Hampden in 2018.

In just his first full season at Fir Park, having spent a period on loan there in 2015, Grimshaw was bidding to help Motherwell win the competition for only the third time in their long history.

Unfortunately, a fast start from the Hoops put the Steelmen on the back foot as they slipped two goals behind with only 25 minutes on the clock.

However, a stirring second half display by the underdogs put Brendan Rodgers’ men on the back foot, but despite hitting the crossbar and creating a number of chances, Motherwell ultimately suffered cup final heartache.

Aged just 23 at the time, Grimshaw had grown into the game, creating a number of half-chances for his team with marauding runs down the right.

"We had beaten Aberdeen 3-0 in the semi-final and I had a hell of a good game,” recalled Grimshaw, who came up through the academy set-up at Manchester United before signing as a professional at Old Trafford.

"I was in for the final against Celtic and I remember it was a red-hot day. We stayed over the night before at Turnberry where Donald Trump has a big golf course on the Ayrshire coast.

"I remember I struggled to sleep the night before, I was really nervous, but we ended up going 2-0 down early but we were well in the game after that.

"It was just Celtic’s extra class which told in the end.”

Remarkably, it was Grimshaw’s second experience of a cup final at Hampden Park that season – he played in the League Cup final earlier in the campaign.

Unfortunately, once again, it was Celtic who emerged victorious on that occasion by the same scoreline.

"I remember we played Celtic in the League Cup final that season and I had been in and out of the team,” he said.

"But we had actually played Aberdeen in the semi-final the week before and won 3-0. I had a good game and so I was in the team for the final.

"I got taken off in the final after 50 minutes and I was gutted.

"I remember sitting there thinking that I might never get an opportunity like this again.

"We lost, I got brought off, I didn’t feel like I had got into the game but just a few months further down the line we ended up playing them again.

"I suppose looking back, I wish I could have played in those games a bit later on in my career.

"At the time, I’d still only had 40-games maximum experience as a professional. It was not like I had played 250 games where maybe I would be more in the zone although I wouldn’t say I was overawed by the occasion.

"It would be good to have another go at something like that again.”

In total, Grimshaw spent just over five years at Motherwell across two stints – making 111 appearances in the Scottish Premiership. There were plenty of memorable moments, including appearances in Europe and clashes against the Old Firm at Parkhead and Ibrox.

“The first time I played at Celtic Park was when I was on loan with Motherwell in 2015 and we won 2-1,” said Grimshaw, who has also played for Preston and Chesterfield in England.

"When you look back, it’s only now you realise how big a thing that was because I don’t think Motherwell have won there since and that was nearly 10 years ago.

"When we played them in the two cup finals, that was a really good Celtic team. They had Craig Gordon in goals, Scott Brown, Moussa Dembele, Callum McGregor – there were some quality players.

"Rangers had some good players but my time in Scotland coincided with Celtic being the dominant force.”

Grimshaw departed Motherwell in 2022, dropping down to Greenock Morton in the Scottish Championship.

He collected the club’s player of the year award the following season and was soon snapped up by Dundee United, who were looking to return to the SPL after relegation in 2023.

They made an immediate return to the top flight as Grimshaw helped the club to the league title. Unfortunately, he found himself out of favour this summer and was released.

"Dundee United are a big club,” he said. “They were expected to go back up and that’s probably the first time I’ve experienced that kind of expectation. We were expected to win every week and we managed to get the job done, get promoted.

"I had a good season, but you know what football can be like, it is a brutal industry.

"The manager rung me and told me I was surplus to requirements. So that’s where we are at but I can’t speak highly enough of my time in Scotland.

"Myself and my wife Courtney have spent a third of our lives there and the people are so passionate, they love their football.”

What happens next in Grimshaw’s career only time will tell.

Out of contract, the 29-year-old is currently looking at his options and has not ruled out the possibility of a return to Scotland.

However, he would love nothing more than to receive a phone call from the manager of his boyhood club – Burnley boss Scott Parker.

A Clarets supporter since birth, Grimshaw has been back in his native East Lancashire over the past few months and has welcomed the arrival of his first child, a daughter named Luna Rose with wife Courtney.

The former Manchester United academy graduate, who captained the Red Devils Under-21s team, concedes that his ambition of pulling on the famous claret and blue jersey in a professional capacity is a ‘ship which has probably sailed’.

"I used to go home and away,” said Grimshaw, who signed for Preston at the age of 21 when they were in the Championship at the same time as the Clarets.

“Some of the best days of my life have been watching Burnley with my pals and family.

"My favourite player as a kid was Glen Little – he was my hero and I was there at Scunthorpe when we won promotion under Stan Ternent.

"That was when Glen scored that screamer and we got promoted into the Championship.

"I was with my cousin and after the game we ran onto the pitch.

"That was the era with Andy Payton in the team and we signed Ian Wright.

"That was always my dream to play for Burnley. I would swap anything to play a game for Burnley, but they have gone in a different direction after winning promotion to the Premier League and the money involved. It’s a different stratosphere.”

Grimshaw, who has been tagged as a utility player for much of his career but would love a concerted run in his favoured midfield position as he enters the later stages of his career, revealed he used to train with the Clarets as a youngster.

"I was training with Burnley as a young lad and they weren’t sure,” he said. “Then I went training at Manchester United and got some really good coaching from a good coach called Charlie Jackson.

"I kind of improved drastically overnight to the point where I went from Burnley not wanting to sign me to being the best player at my age at United.

"So I do think if I had have stayed at Burnley, I could be playing for them now, I could have played 250 to 300 games for them.

"By the same token, if I had have stayed there, I may not have even played one professional game. You just never know what would have happened?

"I suppose my best chance of ever signing for Burnley would have been when I left United because Burnley were in the Championship back then.

"I was captain of United’s Under-21s so there may have been half-a-chance that they would have been interested in signing United’s captain, but obviously it did not end up transpiring.”

Grimshaw has been on t’Turf this season – and to some away games – he believes Parker’s men have got what it takes to challenge for promotion.

He added: "They have been playing well recently and what I would say is from experience, having that solid defensive bedrock, then you’ve always got a great chance of being up there.

"They are probably not playing the kind of football like they did under Vincent Kompany because that season in the Championship was amazing.

"But fair play to Parker, he was dealt a bit of bad hand really, everyone was leaving but I think he’s done well to get them to gel. It’s a pretty new team and I like to think they are going to improve because they’ve not been together for long.”

In recent times, Grimshaw – whose brother Kieren is a professional cricketer for Rishton in the Lancashire League – has begun to look at life after playing and has begun to indulge his love of writing by composing a blog.

His website www.thoughtsfromthefoothills.com showcases pieces he has written about football, sport in general, and travel.

He first began writing after watching his younger brother Kieren enjoy a standout season for Ramsbottom in 2022.

"My brother won the Worsley Cup for Ramsbottom in the Lancashire League,” said Grimshaw.

"He had an incredible season. He got over 500 runs just in the Worsley Cup, it’s a record – he was averaging well over 100.

"I think he got 140 in the final, 126 not out against Lowerhouse – he just had an incredible run and so I wrote a poem about the final.

"After that, just thought I would get back into writing because I always enjoyed writing at school.

"It’s gone really well – I never looked at getting any work out of it but I got a message off a guy who has a magazine called Nutmeg which is a Scottish football publication.

"I did a podcast with him first and then he asked me to write a piece. I have done about five or six pieces for the magazine on varying topics.”