BRUNO Guimaraes says it would be beyond his wildest dreams to be the captain who lifts Newcastle United's first trophy in 70 years in what is his first season wearing the armband.
And although the Brazilian is well aware of just how much silverware success would mean to the club and the city, he says Newcastle's squad is much better equipped to deal with the emotions of the Carabao Cup final than they were for their last visit to Wembley two seasons ago.
Bruno insists there's "no pressure" on the Magpies as they look to end their long, long wait for glory.
And after helping to so impressively see off Arsenal in Wednesday night's semi-final second leg, he said: "I've always wanted to put my name in the club's history. This is a big step towards that. Right now I'm in heaven."
Asked what it would mean to lift the trophy as captain, Bruno said: "Unbelievable. Even in my wildest dreams I couldn't think about it, in my first season as captain to lift a trophy for this club for the first time in a long long time. Wow. It would be massive."
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Tearful Bruno was heartbroken when Newcastle came up short in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester United two seasons ago, but believes that experience can help the Magpies this time around as they look to win their first major trophy since 1955.
He said: "Everyone knows how emotional I am. I like to win, I always want to win, so when I lose that's normal. But this time I'm feeling very confident, hopeful we can go there and this time win, which would be massive for everyone.
"There's no pressure for us, no pressure. I've been here for three years and this is my second final. There's no pressure. I'm very happy and hopeful. If we can win the city will stop for us. It will be a massive."
"We're more used to it, a second time in three years is very good for the team. It's something we're getting used to and we're hopeful we can win this one. It would be amazing for the owners, for the team, for the fans, for everyone in the city."
Asked what Newcastle's players learnt from their final devastation two seasons ago, he said: "It's difficult to say but now we are getting used to finals. I think we have more experience now. In a 90 minute final anything can happen, we have to be ready for this one.
"It's an amazing feeling. Now we need to focus on the preparation for our games before the final."
Newcastle have five games before the final, starting this weekend at Birmingham City as they get their FA Cup campaign underway.
Could that be the start of another deep run in a domestic cup competition? Could Newcastle target a double?
"I don't know," laughed Bruno.
"Let's just take it step by step. I'm very happy for everyone but we have to keep going."
