Watt an effort on comeback by Motherwell's miracle man Tony

The quarter-final thriller ended in an agonising 4-2 penalty shootout defeat, with substitute Watt – who netted a last minute equaliser to make it 2-2 as ’Well recovered from 2-0 down – earning praise for his fine display returning from a heel injury, having been all but ruled out by manager Graham Alexander just 24 hours earlier.

Watt, 27, said: “I’d been on crutches a week ago. I spoke to the physio and to be fair he was good with me. He was being really cautious. I told him I was happy to risk it. It’s been sore. It’s still sore.

“I trained on Friday for 45 mins or an hour and it was sore. I just took a few paracetamol and got through it. I strapped it up. I was happy to help the lads. I spoke to the gaffer and said: ‘Look I’m happy to risk it’.

“It’s a problem with my heel. I landed on it on the astroturf and I hurt it. Hopefully I can keep managing it, get through to the summer and rest it. It’s just one of those I’ve not been able to shake away.”

Watt, whose side's recent improvement has seen them secure Scottish Premiership safety with three games to spare, return to Scottish Premiership action at home to Kilmarnock this Saturday, kick-off 3pm.

Watt said: “He (boss Alexander) has come in and been a results machine. I said that to him the other day. I said: ‘You’ve had some record’.

"He corrected me and said: ‘We’ve had some record’. I got put in my place. He likes a togetherness, he likes a team spirit, and the boys like it. Hopefully we can strengthen in the summer and go again.

“We know we are safe this season, but we all have higher ambitions. Hopefully we can push on and do well.

"We got to the quarter-final of the cup and played a very good Hibs team, one of the best Hibs team in years, and got beat on pens. And pens are a lottery.

“I was proud of the boys. We showed a lot of commitment and character to get back. It shows that we’ve got a real spirit between us and we should be doing that a lot more often.

"Since I’ve been out, the boys have been brilliant and have picked up great results. We were so close to Hampden, but unfortunately we need to pack up and go again."