FIVE years ago, Ryan Porteous stood in a throng of delirious Hibees tens of thousands deep, as disbelieving as any of them as he looked up at the double decker bus where the triumphant Hibernian players paraded the Scottish Cup trophy. The first time it had been seen round those parts in 114 years.

Not only a lifelong supporter, but a hopeful youth player at the time, Porteous now has the opportunity to make it a relatively quickfire return to Leith for the oldest cup in football.

There may not be the same ecstatic scenes this time around if he can help Hibs win the final against St Johnstone this afternoon, either at the national stadium or Easter Road, but that doesn’t mean the achievement would mean any less.

“I had a game for the Under-17s that day,” Porteous said.

“It was a quick rush to play the game at the training centre and then get up to the parade with one of the other boys in the team. We caught it coming down Leith Walk so that was a great memory.

“The Under-17s were playing Dundee United in the last game of the season. I can’t remember the score. I think we won, because we had a good 17s team that year.

“It was just a mad rush. I don’t think we even had time for a shower. It was a case of kit on and right up to the parade because we were going to miss it.

“I’m actually surprised we still played that day. It was a mad day and one I look back on really fondly with how it panned out – getting up there that late but still managing to catch the celebrations. It was brilliant.

“Growing up, it was normally Celtic and Rangers in the finals. Into the 2010s, Hibs started to get there more. We played Hearts and Celtic a couple of times. It was like ‘we’re getting there, we’re getting there.’

“The Rangers one kicked it off and you could see that the mentality of the club had kind of changed now that the hoodoo had gone.

“We’ve not been to the final since but we want to make that next step again. It’s time for new people to step up and become legends.”

The memories of 2016 may be warm ones for Porteous, but having followed Hibs all of his days, it goes without saying that Hampden has not always been a happy hunting ground for him and his team.

No more so than four years prior to their moment of triumph, when he watched on with horror from the stands as his heroes were taken apart by bitter rivals Hearts. Five one, Pa Kujabi and all that.

“I was there but the less said about that the better!” he said.

“The highs and lows of Hibs, we’ve seen it all over the years. It’s never easy being a Hibs fan

“But I think this season it’s been fantastic and if the Hibs fans were here I’m sure they would’ve really appreciated the hard work and good performances to put as at Hampden four times this season.

“I can only imagine what it would be like as a fan to go to Hampden four times in one season. Obviously, they’ve not all been good.

“But now we’ve put ourselves in a position to achieve success and bring silverware to the club.

“So, that’s our goal, our ambition, we want to bring the Scottish Cup back.”

The only sour point of the day ahead, Porteous hopes at least, is the absence of fans like himself in the stands, and more importantly, his family.

His mum, Jill, sent him a text back in 2016 warning him to stay off the pitch in the aftermath of Hibs’ dramatic late victory over Rangers. She may be even more nervous this time around.

“I think she watched it in 2016, I’m not sure she’ll be watching this time with the nerves,” he said. “We’ll see. I think she’ll probably just switch it on at the end to see the result.

“Obviously I’m not there but I can just imagine her. She’s probably a bag of nerves, walking about the house and doing any sort of housework or ironing just to keep out of the way of the TV.

“She said when I took the penalty [in the quarter final shootout against Motherwell] she just had to get up and walk away, then could hear my dad celebrating.

“I probably don’t help with the way I play sometimes if she can’t watch! But, listen, I just wish they could be there. It’s a shame but we’re in strange times just now so we can’t complain too much.

“If you were in an ideal world, that’s definitely what you would want. But everyone is in this situation now.

“We just need to give the fans something back for all the effort they have put in with buying pay-per-view games and still supporting us whether they are at the game or not.

“Hopefully we can give them something to celebrate.”