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 penalty shoot-out win over Edinburgh City and suddenly Morrison's men were writing history as they became the first side outside of Scotland to reach the final of the Challenge Cup. 'We went into Airbus three years before I came to Connah's Quay and we wrote the history books,' said the former Man City captain. 'We came in here and followed the pattern.' While Ross County are closing in on an immediate return to the Ladbrokes Premiership, Nomads are still battling for a treble, chasing down rivals with a squad littered with part-time players. Still battling in three competitions, there is no fear in a squad littered with part-time players Victory in Glasgow at Hampden Park earlier in the competition was a marker to other sides Club captain George Horan is an electrical engineer, Jon Ruston is a painter and decorator and John Danby doubles up as a personal trainer off the pitch. But inferiority is not in Morrison's lexicon. Given everything he has been through, this is 90 minutes of football. As far as battles go, this is not close to being his toughest. 'The mindset and the mentality is very strong within the group and I don't want any excuses. None,' he said. 'It's about finding a way to win with what you've got and the opposition. Find a way to win. It is too easy nowadays with all the sports science we have for players to believe they are tired and I firmly believe — I know myself from reading — the mind wants to give up 40 per cent into what the body is capable of. WHAT ELSE DOES THIS NOMADS SQUAD DO? John Disney - Sales manager Danny Harrison - Head of Education at Liverpool Football college Jon Ruston - Painter and decorator George Horan (CLUB CAPTAIN) - Electrical engineer Michael Wilde - Tutor at Tranmere Rovers Michael Parker - Business Analyst John Danby - Personal trainer 'I have read so much on that. If we start listening to the mind, we start to give up very soon and you can go a lot longer and harder. 'I keep telling them not to listen to the little voices in their heads and to keep pushing, keep going and come the summer you can have a break.' Morrison may have played for City when they were at a low ebb but he still enjoys legendary status among the club's fans. When manager Royle realised he needed a 'warrior' on the pitch to cope with the rough and tumble of League One, Morrison was the man he turned to. He may be a world away from the Vincent Kompanys and David Silvas in terms of talent, but Morrison became City's talisman as they won promotion back to the Championship via the play-offs. 'The players during that period are fondly remembered by the fans,' said Morrison. 'We think of the catalogue of players who have been there in the last 20 years and yet fans will still be able to name that team from '99 and they'll remember the players from the following year who took us up. I know it is very special to the players who played at that time.' Fans have travelled the distance from Connah's Quay to Barcelona so far in this competition Having continually upset the odds, those travelling from North Wales will hope for one more Morrison's team have ruffled a few feathers on their way to today's final. The Nomads' tactics were criticised after the win over Queen's Park at Hampden on November 16, three days before his brother's diagnosis. They were accused of not playing football and their direct approach came under scrutiny. 'They'll bitterly regret the way they dealt with it and the way they behaved in the aftermath of the game,' he added, the annoyance still clear in his voice. 'It was appalling their lack of respect and understanding. I am sure their manager and their keeper and a few of their players will be incredibly embarrassed. Not only did we knock them out of the cup, we ruined their season because of the way they dealt with it, like a big bunch of babies.' Few gave them a chance at Falkirk, then again at Hampden against Queen's Park and even Edinburgh City were favourites for the semi-final in North Wales. All those three can do now is watch on as Morrison's players go toe-to-toe with the highest-ranked side in the competition. Emotions will be stirring, with his brother not in the stands. Should Morrison win this Inverness final, he'll be toasting with an Irn-Bru, rather a beer, continuing to write history as he goes. Morrison, should he lift the cup, will be toasting an Irn-Bru, rather than a beer, to celebrate All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility