Waking up in a jail cell was the final straw for Andy Morrison.
Then captain of Manchester City, battling for promotion from the third tier under Joe Royle, Morrison's battle with alcoholism was one he was slowly losing until a drinking session in Inverness shook some sense into him.
That was in 1999. Twenty years on, Morrison has not touched a drop since. For him, that was his 'final' and it was a final he went on to win.
And so returning to Inverness as manager of Welsh Premier League side Connah's Quay Nomads for the Irn-Bru Cup final feels like fate offering a chance at redemption in his native Scotland.
Andy Morrison's journey to the Irn-Bru Cup final has been far tougher than many can imagine
'Demons took me to the dark side and, without a shadow of a doubt, curtailed where I could have gone with my football,' he told Sportsmail.
'When you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, you have to take a different path. It's always pain that changes your direction in life. Whether that is physical, mental, emotional… it's pain that changes you.'
Morrison still attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings each week in the knowledge this is a game well beyond 90 minutes.
But back in November came a battle he could not dig deep to win. His brother Ian, complaining of a headache, made the trip to the doctors in Aberdeen and, three days later, was diagnosed with brain cancer. He died seven days later.
Connah's Quay Nomads boss is 20 years sober but is still accepting the death of his brother
The former Manchester City captain used football as a saviour to pull him from his alcoholism
The family, reeling from Ian's cancer diagnosis, were then to be rocked again. Morrison's mother Anne, living more than ten hours away in Plymouth, was diagnosed with cancer on the same day.
'It was incredibly tough because it happened so fast,' he said. 'No sooner was I getting a phone call saying he's gone to the doctor with a headache to three days later he's had a scan and it's brain cancer and ten days later he's dead. It doesn't get any more brutal than that.'
With success in four competitions, games were packed in for the Nomads and Morrison opted against taking time away from the role, instead deciding to find a way to get to Kinlochbervie, where he grew up, Aberdeen, Connah's Quay and Plymouth.
'I had to deal with all that with the football going on and, on reflection, I probably should have stepped away for a few weeks but I can't. It's not who I am,' he added.
'I was travelling to the north of Scotland then back down for training, back up and then back down for games. It'll probably be the end of the season when I'll be able to reflect on it and work out how we got through it.
Now excelling as a manager, Morrison has the Nomads defying all expectations on all fronts
Victories over Falkirk, Coleraine, Queen's Park and Edinburgh City got them to Saturday's final
'The driving was unbelievable in terms of the amount of miles I did. Back and forth to Aberdeen, to Kinlochbervie, then back to Connah's Quay, then down to Plymouth to see my mum and then back up, then back to Aberdeen. Somehow you find a way.
'I miss him greatly. I spoke about it after the semi-final, how much it meant to me to get to the final because he would have been there supporting me.'
Morrison's extended family will be travelling down from the small harbour village of Kinlochbervie, where the Nomads boss grew up until he was nine, for the final with Ross County with a void in their ranks. Victory would be for Ian and, despite the chips being stacked against them, Morrison and Nomads head north of the border full of confidence.
Being underestimated has worked for them so far. A 1-0 victory away at Falkirk in their opening tie was a message to the rest of the tournament: the Nomads are not here to make up the numbers.
Then came a 2-0 win over Coleraine, then a 2-1 win at Queen's Park, and then came a
