To have reached 100 games in claret and amber by the age of just 21 is remarkable.
But for Chris Cadden, who is set to make his 103rd appearance for the ‘Well in Sunday’s Scottish Cup clash with Hearts, every game continues to teach him more and more.
“In every game I learn new things,” he said. “To have reached a major final at a young age is something I consider to be an achievement, but I don’t want it to be the last one I get to this season, never mind my career.
“It just whets my appetite for another final to be honest and I think we’re all in good shape and well prepared for Sunday.
[pullquote]I think we can use the experiences of that final to help give us that extra push on Sunday and hopefully get us back to the national stadium.”[/pullquote]
The Steelmen face Hearts in the last eight, having progressed past Hamilton Academical and Dundee before being drawn against Craig Levein’s Jambos.
Stephen Robinson’s men haven’t conceded a goal in the tournament yet, and head in to Sunday afternoon’s clash with winning momentum behind them.
“Hearts will be a tough, tough test for us,” the Motherwell youth academy graduate added. “If we stand a chance of getting back to Hampden, we’ll need to be at our best.
“But we’re all confident of that, and we can take a lot from the trips to Hampden we’ve already had this season.”
The driven, hungry Scot reflects on November’s Betfred Cup final with as much positivity as he can, and hopes it can shape him and his teammates for better success in the Scottish Cup.
“If we can get a step closer to another final on Sunday, it will be amazing for the club and something we can all be proud of.
“We can all learn from it, and I think we have. If we can put in the sort of performance we know we’re capable of on Sunday, you never know, maybe we can go that all-important one step further.”
The Steelmen have had their fair share of hurdles to manoeuvre this week, with heavy snowfall disrupting Wednesday’s game with Aberdeen as well as the club’s training schedule.
“It’s been frustrating,” confessed Motherwell’s number seven. “And to be honest, getting snowed in is boring too.
“All the boys have been chatting to each other and we’re just desperate to be preparing as best we can for the quarter final.
“The fact the weather led to our game against Aberdeen being postponed was annoying because we’d prepared well and were all desperate to follow up on our win against Dundee.
“Since we’ve come back from the break we’ve just been desperate to play every week, and we’re playing well and picking up some big results.
“Dundee wasn’t the best performance by any means but sometimes those wins are the sweeter ones.”
And with wins like that under their belt, Cadden says that the lads have been buoyed by Saturday’s victory.
“When you come away with a win like that, I don’t think you can underestimate what it can do for us as a group.
“We’re all on top form, we’re all confident and, despite the weather trying it’s best to distract us, we’re all fully focussed on going out on to the pitch at Fir Park on Sunday and sending this club back to Hampden.”