Hearts v Hibernian: Fenlon chasing form, not running for cover before cup final

Iain Collin
Saturday 11 May 2013

THERE would appear to be no place where Hibernian can hide from that William Hill Scottish Cup final.

Not even the bottom half of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League has offered much of a refuge since Hearts have also occupied a place in the bottom six; the final Edinburgh derby of the season will take place tomorrow amid familiar jeering, jibes and gestures reminding Hibs supporters what the score was when the two sides met at Hampden 12 months ago.

It would seem churlish to mention it now. Yet Hibs continue to operate under the shadow of that final and the taunting might even take on a new dimension at Tynecastle given that the Leith side are to return to the national stadium to make amends in a final with Celtic later this month. It might be best that fans nip across the city with their fingers jammed in their ears.

There will be no such escape for the players, although Pat Fenlon is not interested in extricating his Hibs squad from the city ahead of the final. Not this time. The Easter Road side's manager took his players to Dublin in the lead up to their Scottish Cup final defeat by Hearts last year but has declined to make similar plans this time.

Instead, Hibs will see out the season – after tomorrow's derby, there is a rearranged league game with Kilmarnock and then one more with Dundee to contend with – and then begin work for the final meeting with Celtic. None of his squad will be spared those fixtures either, despite a suggestion that top scorer Leigh Griffiths might be covered in bubble wrap and kept out of harm's way until May 26 rolls around.

"Whoever is fit will play," said Fenlon, who remains coy over the prospect of retaining Griffiths beyond the end of the season, either on another loan from Wolves or a permanent contract. "Looking at last year, how we prepared obviously didn't work. So we've got to learn from that. When people ask me what I've learned from last year's final, it's the little things you try to pick up on and maybe change.

"There are a lot of clubs maybe thinking: 'Oh, let's just get this out of the way and go on holiday' but we've got a massive game [tomorrow], then two league games that can help us get into a real good position. And, at the end of that, we've got a fantastic day out at Hampden trying to win the Scottish Cup. It doesn't get any better than that for the players.

"For us, we've got to keep the intensity up. We've got to stay at a level where we keep going and win matches, which means playing at a real high intensity. When we went away before the final last year, yeah, probably they had too much time on their hands. We'll have a look at our preparations."

That will likely prove less of a traumatising task for Ross Caldwell. The 19-year-old striker has a enjoyed a productive record in Edinburgh derbies – albeit at youth level – most notably by scoring twice to ease Hibs past Hearts in the SFA Youth Cup quarter-final last season.

"I was actually going over my record during the week," said Caldwell. "It's seven goals in seven starts and most of their players have now progressed to the first team. But I'd happily swap [those goals] for one on Sunday if it was the winner."

Comments like that tend to grow in significance within the heated atmosphere of a derby, with Jamie MacDonald toying with controversy himself by suggesting that Hearts are still the most powerful club in Edinburgh. The goalkeeper can point to the league table as his evidence – Hearts are a point ahead but have played a game more – and he was deliberately dismissive of any suggestion that Hibs have improved since last term.

The Easter Road side were able to knock Hearts out on their way to a second successive Scottish Cup final but MacDonald seemed unconvinced. "Would finishing above them dispel the myth about a power shift? I think it already is a myth," said the goalkeeper. "I don't understand how one [derby] win in 15 games can signal a power shift in the capital.

"Yes, they have improved from last year. We won every match against them last season. I don't see how you can call that being a power shift, it's still only one win and that was a cup game.

"If you look at the league record, they have still not beaten us in the league since 2009. It's been a while. Personally, I don't see that being a power shift. If they win at the weekend, for me it's still the status quo."

Taken from the Herald