Scottish Cup final: Pat Fenlon set on Hibs’ team for Hampden

IAIN COLLIN
Published on Tuesday 15 May 2012 00:00

HIBS manager Pat Fenlon last night revealed he has already settled on his Scottish Cup final line-up and is prepared to break the hearts of those not involved.

The Irishman yesterday took his players through their first training session since taking his squad to the leafy suburbs of Dublin on Sunday to escape the bedlam of the build-up to Saturday’s captivating Hampden encounter with Hearts.

Injuries aside, the Easter Road manager has confessed there will be little change to his thoughts on how best to land his long-suffering club the elusive trophy for the first time in 110 years.

There are still, however, places to be won among the five substitutes allowed in the mouthwatering climax to the Scottish Cup, but as many as six of Fenlon’s first-team squad are expected to wind up disappointed at their omission for what would have been the biggest game of their lives.

But Fenlon made no apologies when he stresed sentimentality will play no part in his decision-making leading up to Saturday’s historic meeting.

He said: “We know the team. The bench is probably where we’ve got one or two decisions.

“There’s a lot of players and there’s only five substitutes’ places, so it’s going to be a difficult decision for me.

“But you don’t pick it on sentiment, you pick it on what you think is the best group of substitutes that can change the game for you or can cover you in certain areas of the pitch.

“Maybe in the next day or two’s training we’ll see someone who gives us an advantage that’s not there at the moment. But, in relation to the team, we’re fairly close to what we want.

“We’re going to work on a bit of stuff this week, so players are clever enough to work out who’s playing and who’s not playing when they see the sort of work you’re doing.

“They’re always working out what you’re trying to do in training. They’ll know fairly quickly.

“Telling the players who are not going to be in the squad is part of my job. That’s the nasty side, it’s not the nice side of the job.

“But like I’ve said to any of them that have been left out for any game, it’s not about personalities, it’s about what I think on the day will be the best team that will win for the club.

“That’s no different for the cup final. We won’t be picking the side or the subs on anything else other than what we think is the best one to try and win the game, whether it is the starting XI or the subs’ bench.”

Full-back Pa Kujabi was the only one of the Hibs squad who did not train yesterday because of a hamstring injury but Matt Doherty, who limped out of Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Inverness late on, took a full part in the session at Tolka Rovers’ ground.

Fenlon took his squad to Dublin to escape the mayhem of the Scottish Cup final build-up – only to see excited supporters of the club turn up to watch their first training session yesterday.

The Irishman was made well aware at his unveiling back in November of the Easter Road outfit’s Scottish Cup hoodoo but has been eager to play down the historic meeting with rivals Hearts as his team have battled against relegation.

However, with their SPL safety finally secured, the former Bohemians and Shelbourne manager is having to work hard to cocoon his players from the full impact of the first all-Edinburgh final since 1896.

He said: “It is a special occasion for us and we wanted to treat it as such, but there is so much going on around the game – even last week trying to prepare for the Inverness game was crazy as the training centre was like a train station with the amount of traffic. I just thought it would be too manic to be there.

“The players have worked hard to get to the final and to make sure we stayed in the SPL, so it’s nice for them to get a chance to chill out and get our training done as well as time to relax. But, even this morning at training, there were Hibs fans who turned up who are Irish-based. The boys know the importance and what people think.

“I’ve not got loads lined up, it’s more about getting the work done and rest and relax as opposed to filling their days with loads of stuff. When we do our work, the time is for relaxing and enjoyment. They may never get another chance to play in a Scottish Cup final, so the build-up is as important.”

Fenlon has an impressive record in cup finals in Ireland, having only lost one as player or manager, but knows Saturday’s showpiece occasion will surpass anything in his homeland.

“It’s massive and it’ll be a dream come true to lead the team out at Hampden for a Scottish Cup final. Even in the League of Ireland, you talk to players or ex-players at end-of-season functions and you think they have done everything in the game.

“You find out some of them have never played in a final or won a medal.

“There are boys in the SPL who have never played in the Scottish Cup final or at Hampden, so this might be the only time we do.

“I haven’t been brought up in it or steeped in the traditions, but the supporters live and breathe it and they know every stat that has happened.

“The way I look at it, the job when I came was to stay in the SPL and the only other competition we had was the Scottish Cup. We’ve done well to reach the final at a first attempt. It would be marvellous to win it from my point of view, but even better for the fans.”

Taken from the Scotsman