Hibs hope new rooms will be Hearts break hotel

TONY MOWBRAY today revealed how Hibs have switched hotels in a bid to avoid noisy fans on the eve of their Tennent's Scottish Cup showdown with Capital rivals Hearts.

After training at Easter Road this morning, Mowbray's squad watched the semi-final between Second Division champions Gretna and Dundee before heading for their hideaway in the west.

But, instead of checking in at the hotel they used the night before their stunning fourth round 3-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox, which had a lunchtime kick-off just like tomorrow's semi-final, Hibs will spend tonight at a completely different establishment.

With the match kicking off at 12.15pm, many Hibs and Hearts fans have made arrangements to stay in Glasgow hotels tonight to avoid the predicted traffic congestion on the M8 with some 45,000 Capital supporters expected to be on the move tomorrow morning.

But Mowbray is intent on making sure his players enjoy a sound night's sleep without any disruption from boisterous fans sharing the same hotel.

He explained: "We'll be following the same routine we used before facing Rangers and hopefully it will prove just as successful.

"However, we used a city centre hotel in Glasgow the night before that match and with the prospect of both Hibs and Hearts fans spending tonight in the west because of the earlier kick-off we've decided to stay a little bit out."

Although he agreed 12.15pm was "a pretty unusual" time for football, Mowbray insisted it won't affect the players of either side who have both had experience of an early kick-off against Rangers in recent weeks.

He said: "It will be the same routine as for any match although you have to work backwards from kick-off making sure the preparations are right, that the team are up, their pre-match meal and so on.

"I can't imagine that, once the game gets underway, the kick-off time will have any bearing on the match. The two teams will be out on the pitch ready to go and hopefully we can produce a good spectacle."

Likewise, Mowbray expressed every confidence in the Hampden ground staff having the pitch in perfect condition for the first all-Edinburgh semi-final in more than 100 years despite the poor weather and the fact Gretna and Dundee will have played on it just 24 hours earlier.

He said: "I don't know how much rain they've had in Glasgow this week, but we've certainly had a lot. Hopefully the pitch isn't too heavy, everyone would like it to be in as good a condition as possible.

"But I am sure the ground staff will have the pitch back in pristine condition."

Taken from the Scotsman