I WATCHED FROM STREET AS HEARTS PARADED CUP ON AN OPEN-TOPPED BUS... THIS TIME I WANT ON BOARD

CRAIG GORDON is desperate to turn a dream in to reality by standing on an open-topped bus with his arms wrapped around the Scottish Cup.

Gordon vowed to experience the exhilarating feeling the day he watched his Jambos heroes parade the Cup in just such a fashion after the 2-1 win over Rangers in 1998.

And with only 90 minutes standing between Gordon realising his dream, the 23-year-old wants to taste Scottish Cup glory like he did at Under-18 level.

Gordon said: "Winning the Scottish Cup would top the lot - it is one of the things you dream about as a wee boy.

"I have done it with the Under- 18s. If I could do it with the senior team then it would be by far the greatest moment of my career.

"There were so many people around the streets of Edinburgh the last time Hearts won the Scottish Cup in 1998.

"It was a magnificent feeling just to be part of it and to get the chance to do it as a player would mean so much to me as I am a Hearts supporter.

"I was playing in a cup final myself that day for Hearts boys' club. I watched the team come back on an open topped bus and the scenes were fantastic."

It is eight long years since Jim Jefferies guided the Jambos to their memorable 2-1 success over Rangers.

Now Gordon and his teammates are only 90 minutes away from assuring themselves of a place in the Tynecastle Hall of Fame.

But despite splitting the Old Firm for the first time since 1995, Player of the Year Gordon believes they will not gain the respect they fully deserve until they have won silverware.

Gordon said: "Winning the Scottish Cup would cap a fantastic season. So far it has been a good season and we are 90 minutes away from making it a great season.

"The guys at this club are desperate not to let it slip by.

"We've got into the Champions League but we don't have any medals to show for that achievement.

"Steven Pressley has never won a medal at Hearts and he is desperate to do so.

"He has been captain for a number of years and not managed to lift a trophy.

"He is desperate to go out and get the right result for the club.

"A Scottish Cup win would give us that on Saturday and we could look back on what we have achieved with real satisfaction."

However, Gordon is confident success at Hampden will not lead to the break-up of the current Hearts side the same way it did to Jefferies' heroes back in 1998.

Several key members of the cup-winning squad left for pastures new and Gordon believes that if Vladimir Romanov's Tynecastle revolution is allowed to continue then they could go on to win the SPL next season.

Gordon knows the Jambos can certainly match Celtic and Rangers in terms of their fan base as the capital side will take in excess of 35,000 fans to Hampden for the showdown with Second Division champions Gretna.

However, he revealed he is not sure if millionaire benefactor Romanov will make a guest appearance in the Jambos dressing room if the season culminates in the champagne being popped.

Gordon said: "Mr Romanov has backed us financially, not only to keep the players here but also to redevelop the stadium.

"It has been a rapid turnaround and hopefully it will continue that way and we can challenge next year as well.

"The main players are all contracted for next year. It is more or less the same squad and if we can add another two or three players of real quality in certain areas then hopefully we can improve.

"We have proved we aren't that far behind Rangers and Celtic and with the backing of the fans we can go one step further.

"If Hearts are playing good football then we have the fan base who will come out and support us.

"As for Mr Romanov he might come in after games and congratulate us but that is the only time we see him in the dressing room.

"Hopefully he will be in again on Saturday but we have a lot of work to do before then.

"He is very excitable and showed that after we won our Champions League place."

Gordon insists boss Valdas Ivanauskas made the correct decision in resting him during Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Ibrox.

He added: "I had to be sensible. I had the Cup Final and if I got injured against Rangers and missed the Final then it would have lived with me forever.

"It would have been even worse to miss the Cup Final for a game that meant nothing.

"The manager spoke to me about it and commonsense prevailed. I was happy to be rested.

"You have to be careful about these things because you never know what could happen in football."

Taken from the Daily Record