Interview - Eamonn Bannon, former Hearts and Hibernian player

MOIRA GORDON
Published on Sunday 22 April 2012 00:50

EAMONN Bannon lost four finals but his derby record gives him a special insight into the capital’s biggest-ever clash

TAKE a normal capital derby, pump it full of adrenaline and steroids, and the result would be no more robust than the event threatening to overshadow everything else in Edinburgh for the next month, according to a man who has been involved in his fair share of city head to heads.

“This one is an über derby,” insists Eamonn Bannon, who played a dozen matches for Hearts against Hibs and lost just one. “This one is the biggest for a long time and probably the biggest we will see in our lifetime. It’s massive for the whole city and it’s one that will intrigue even those from outside Edinburgh.”

The cliché is that, in derby matches, the form book goes out the window. Not half as often as it does in cup ties. While the former claim withstands little scrutiny, with the reality proving it the exception rather than the rule, in the knockout competitions there is evidence of more regular results anarchy.

As it is, Hibs go into this one on the back of a poor season and, if the balance of power in the league favours Hearts, history screams their superiority in the Scottish Cup. While most Hearts fans have borne witness to at least one Scottish Cup final celebration, the most recent coming in 2006, even Britain’s oldest man, Rev Thomas Reginald Dean, was only a few months old the last time Hibs lifted the trophy, in 1902.

“Every derby is important but this is all or nothing. In a cup final there’s got to be a winner, so there’s no chance that fans of either team will be able to take comfort in a draw,” says Bannon. “I know Hibs fans who would rather have played Celtic in the final for that reason. Losing another final to them would have been bad enough but losing to their biggest rivals would be too much. But I can’t understand that attitude, they have a much better chance of beating Hearts.

“In a cup final it’s not always the favourites who come out on top. I should know. We went to so many cup finals when I was at Dundee United and I never won one and in virtually every one of them, even against Celtic sometimes, we were expected to win.

“The worst was the one against St Mirren. They were definitely the underdogs and they had a lot of young players, including a young Ian Ferguson, who actually scored that day. We were the experienced team and a team which did well throughout the 80s but, in a cup final, it just takes a wee bit of bad luck, like when we had a goal ruled offside and then they went up the other end and got a late goal leaving us no time to come back at them. To this day I still don’t know what that linesman was thinking but it shows you how a wee break can give a team the edge in these games. A refereeing decision, a sending off, an injury or even just one or two key players having a dip in form, that’s sometimes all it takes.”

With those United defeats stacking up, there was widespread talk of a Hampden hoodoo until a Craig Brewster goal eventually secured a victory over Rangers in the 1994 Scottish Cup final. Those same stories of superstition and cup curses have also been close companions of the Easter Road club. But for all the hype, the watercooler worrying and the messageboard mumblings, Bannon says he never went into any of those finals with United hamstrung by negative vibes.

“I know the fans and the media make a big deal of that kind of thing but I don’t think it crosses the minds of players. You will find that most players aren’t superstitious about things like that. Players are far more pragmatic. A lot of the guys at Hibs are on loan or fairly new to the club so they won’t associate themselves with anything that has gone on a few years ago, let alone worry about the past 110 years. The fans are more fixated with those kind of things. They are the ones who will be talking about it or singing about the outcome for the years to come. They look at the bigger picture and will know what it means in terms of the whole history of their clubs, but for players it’s all about winning the medals and having a cup win to look back on when they finish.”

Bannon says that it is the same way most players approach derbies. “Again, it’s a pragmatic approach. You look at the guys in the dressing room with you and look at the guys they have in their team and, if you think you have the best players, then you always fancy yourself. If you don’t then you know you will need a slice of luck.”

The Gorgie side of town may have had more to cheer about in the recent capital clashes but the former Hearts winger, who is part of a small band of men to have also turned out in the green and white of the Leith side, albeit for just one game compared to 185 in maroon, says that wasn’t the case at one stage.

He was part of the Hearts team which ended a five-year victory hiatus but he said no player went into that match fearing their rivals had the automatic beating of them. “I was lucky I was on more winning teams than losing teams when I was at Hearts and we played Hibs and also when I was at United and we played Dundee. That wasn’t luck and it wasn’t because the opposition were worried about past record of wins and losses, it was simply because, at that time, Hearts and Dundee United were better than Hibs and Dundee and we knew that, so we went into every game with confidence.“

That will be the biggest factor on May 19, he says. “Hearts will go into it with most belief and, if you study the team lines, look at results and exam it all in a sterile way, then Hearts are definitely favourites, but a lot can happen between now and then. Big players could get injured or lose form, others could come on to a game at just the right time. Hibs have been poor this season but they are getting better and, if they can keep Leigh Griffiths and Garry O’Connor fit, then they have two players who can cause any defence a problem, while defensively they are beginning to sort themselves out a bit as well. The midfield is still a weakness. But, if they stay up, then that could give them some momentum going into the final.

“Hearts are very strong defensively, though, have a good midfield and, in Rudi Skacel, they have a man who can score goals in big games. As I’ve said, in a one-off game, you need the breaks as well, though.”

The onus will be on players to keep their heads straight in the coming weeks. Bannon acknowledges that the hype will be intense, and demand for tickets and for players’ time, will be immense. “Some will enjoy that but you will see others shrink away from it all. Some will read every paper, some won’t pick up a paper until it’s all over. But they all have to find their own way of handling what will be an unusual build up. For some it will be the biggest game they have ever or will ever be involved in and, speaking from experience, losing it hurts. It’s just a game of football but it’s not fun to lose a derby and it’s not nice to lose a cup. The only thing that helps is knowing that you have given your all and you were just beaten by the better team. If you don’t and you lose it without a fight, it will take much longer to get over it.”

The players have been warned.

Taken from the Scotsman