I HAD TO HIDE FOR FOR LAST 10 MINS.

Goal hero Stephane Adam told last night how he spent the last 10 minutes of the Jambos' famous cup win HIDING in the dressing room.

French ace Adam, whose 52nd minute strike sealed it for the Gorgie men, headed straight down the tunnel after being subbed in 80 minutes.

The former Lens striker couldn't bear to watch the finale because he was too NERVOUS.

He said: "I could not watch the last 10 minutes when I was substituted so I went straight to the dressing room.

"The last time we played Rangers they scored in the last minute and I just could not face it.

"It was a delight to be told that we had won it."

Now Stephane insists he is going to have ADAM good party to celebrate the cup going home to Edinburgh for the first time since 1956.

He said: "I know it is not good for football but I'll drink all week.

"I had my 29th birthday on Friday and now we have this, it is just a wonderful feeling.

"I know I scored the goal but it really was a team display. It is a great day for the club."

Stephane added: "This is my third cup final and it is my third victory so I seem to carry the luck in these matches.

"I think Gilles Rousset had lost all his cup finals so I'm especially pleased for him.

"We have done well all season but we missed out on the League in the last few games and I felt it was very important that we were seen to be the winners.

"It would have been terrible for us to win nothing."

Jim Jefferies' troops will no doubt wake up this morning with a hell of a hangover - but the party has only just begun.

This afternoon the players will parade the Cup through the Capital streets in an open top bus.

It is an experience Tynecastle veteran Dave McPherson, so often a winner in his Rangers career, is relishing.

He said: "I am really looking forward to getting to show the cup to the fans.

"That never happened when I was with Rangers.

"Seeing the joy of the supporters will mean so much to the players.

"I've already said to the others to enjoy every moment of this but I don't know if it has sunk in myself yet.

"We have suffered the `nearly men' tag for so long but now the players can call themselves winners and we deserve it because we all stuck together when it really mattered."

Hearts midfielder Stefano Salvatori has won the Italian Cup but even he was flabbergasted at the reception of the Hearts fans at the end.

He said: "They have waited 42 years for this moment and I'm very proud to be part of the team that has finally delivered.

"We played very well up until half-time but Rangers went at us in the second half and we had to hold on.

"But we are a very organised outfit and Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown had us geared up for this one. They deserved the success more than anyone.

"I thought I'd seen it all in Italy but the ovation at the end was something else.

"I feel that a big party is going to start and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it."

Taken from the Daily Record