HIBERNIAN winger Ivan Sproule is desperate to dump rivals Hearts tomorrow for best friend Dean Shiels.

The Easter Road star wants to book a Scottish Cup final place at Hampden Park so his pal can end the season on a high. Brave Shiels is battling back from an operation to remove an eye.

The former Arsenal youth is on the comeback trail but is unlikely to feature in the derby. But fellow Northern Ireland international Sproule wants to book a date at Hampden on 13 May so Shiels can pick up a medal.

Sproule said: "He's had one reserve match and was supposed to play on Tuesday again, but it was rained off.

"His progress has been great, though, and he has nearly finished the medical side of things.

"Dean deserves a lot of credit for getting back into a green and white jersey so soon and that's a big plus.

"He's an incredibly strong boy and I know he's itching for a place on the bench on Sunday and I can't wait until I see him standing on the pitch beside me. We want to get to the final for him and that would give him a target for the end of the season.

"That would be a nice present to give him, especially if he was turning out beside me."

Easter Road favourite Sproule is in for a busy summer after Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez handed him another call-up.

Sproule will be in the squad for the end-of-season tour to the United States. He was expected to pull out of the trip as he was getting married.

But he has put this on hold so he can take on Uruguay on 21 May in New Jersey and then Romania in Chicago on 26 May. "I wasn't going to go but, I enjoy playing for the international team so much I had to go," he added.

"It's going to be pretty non-stop at the end of the season, with the trip the US and then I get married on 16 June, so I'll be glad of a break."

At the moment though Sproule is fully focused on getting Hibs to the final and he insists he is ready to fill the void left by Garry O'Connor and Derek Riordan. O'Connor's performances for the Edinburgh club earned him a lucrative move to Lokomotiv Moscow earlier this month, while Riordan, the club's top scorer, is suspended.

Sproule believes he can rise to the challenge. He said: "If people want to look at me and say 'That's where our goals are going to come from' then so be it. I don't let things like that faze me. I'll be going out on Sunday to give 100 per cent and if I set up a goal, score a goal, clear one off the line I'll be happy as long as I give 100 per cent.

"We have a lot of players in the team who are capable of producing on their day as well so I don't think it all falls on me but hopefully I can produce the goods to help get us through to the final."

It has been 104 years since Hibs last lifted the Scottish Cup and the pressure is on from fans to end that lengthy wait. But there is only one person Sproule fears facing if they suffer defeat to Hearts this weekend - his mum.

He said: "She always reminds me it's the medals that count and she will be reminding me as I go out the door this weekend not to be coming home unless I'm coming home with the win."

Taken from the Scotsman