Captains focused on Hampden showdown

THE captains of both Hibernian and Hearts insist that history and form is not affecting their preparation for the Scottish Cup final at Hampden tomorrow.

Hibs go into the first all-Edinburgh final since 1896 seeking to win the trophy for the first time since 1902, but captain James McPake insists the club history will not enter the players’ thoughts.

“It’s something that spurs us on, but on the day we will not be thinking about that 110 years, we’ll just be thinking about that 90 minutes, or 90 minutes plus extra time,” McPake said.

“That’s our chance to wipe away all the 110 years of history and make us heroes at this football club.

“For this football club to win the Scottish Cup would be massive, but for the fans especially, if we could go out and win it against Hearts it would be something they’d talk about for probably the next 110 years.”

The 27-year-old joined on loan from Coventry and was immediately appointed captain, but the Hampden final is set to be his last for Hibs, with McPake poised to return to England next season.

“Unless I hear otherwise I’ll be back at Coventry on July 1,” added McPake, who is under contract at the Ricoh Arena for another year.

“I knew as soon as we got to the final that it’s a good chance it will be my last game for Hibs. It’s something I’ve dealt with already.

“What better way than to go out hopefully as a Scottish Cup-winning captain.”

McPake’s counterpart at Hearts, Marius Zaliukas, has taken a different approach to manager Paulo Sergio ahead of tomorrow’s match, describing the contest as “the biggest game in the club’s history”.

While Sergio attempted to downplay the significance of his side’s opponents, Zaliukas believes there has been no more important fixture in Hearts’ 138-year history.

“It’s the biggest game in the club’s history. It’s a perfect day,” the defender said.

“I wouldn’t say anyone is nervous. Everyone is excited and just can’t wait for Saturday.

“Everyone is thinking what it’s going to be like if we win or if we lose, but everyone is very confident and we’re going to go to win.

“Everyone is going to be involved in history.”

Hearts have won seven in a ten-match unbeaten sequence in the Edinburgh derby, the last Hibs success coming in May 2009.

But Zaliukas believes the Tynecastle side’s recent derby form will be irrelevant tomorrow.

“Derbies are special games, all the time and just probably we have been better,” he said.

“With this, the last three years don’t count. It’s one day, a bigger day.

“No-one is thinking that we’re going to lose and we’re very confident.”

He added: “It’s probably a bigger game than playing Celtic or Rangers. It’s a derby game. It doesn’t matter who is better in the table.”

Taken from the Scotsman