Hearts hope for Gorgie victory parade on Sunday

TRIUMPHANT Hearts players will parade the League Cup aboard an open-top bus – should they win their Hampden clash against St Mirren.

It is understood the Tynecastle club would celebrate their victory by cruising through Gorgie Road on Sunday evening with the trophy held aloft.

The celebration parade would be expected to take place hours after the final whistle – with the players transferring from a standard coach to an open-top double-decker somewhere along the M8.

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They would then make their way through the west of the city before taking the applause at Gorgie. Any parade would commence from the roundabout at Broomhouse Road/Calder Road and finish at McLeod Street. No fans’ events are planned for inside Tynecastle Stadium.

A club spokesman said: “In the event of a successful outcome at Hampden Park the plan is for the victorious squad to return to Edinburgh and complete the final part of the journey on an open-top bus to Tynecastle Stadium through the streets of Gorgie.

“Far from being presumptuous, this is a plan that has had to be put in place should the team beat St Mirren, although we acknowledge it’s a very tough challenge.”

City chiefs ruled yesterday that a “civic reception” in honour of the team would be held following a motion proposed by deputy leader – and Hearts season-ticket holder – Councillor Steve Cardownie.

This would be scheduled in the weeks following a historic Hampden win and would be likely to feature a lunchtime reception for players at City Chambers before the cup was shown to fans along the High Street.

At the meeting, Cllr Cardownie said: “If Hearts are successful on Sunday, would the council leader and provost think of a way of commemorating the occasion?”

Lord Provost Donald Wilson said: “When Hearts win the League Cup it would be remiss of us not to have a reception.”

Meanwhile, it is understood Hearts have all but sold out their allocation of 25,000 tickets for the final.

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The club had received an additional 2500 briefs amid huge demand from supporters and are thought to be on the brink of a total sell-out. Supporters who have opted to collect their cup final tickets are being reminded that they can now be picked up from the Heart of Midlothian Ticket Centre. It will be open today from 9am to 5pm, and on Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

The ticket office will be closed on ­Sunday.

A spokesman warned it would be busy on Saturday.

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HEARTS stars Dylan McGowan and Mark Ridgers do their bit for the official Big Hearts version of the Hearts Song, which has proved a huge hit with 6000 fans having already streamed the version created by kids participating in the Big Hearts School of Rock.

The song is available via the club’s official website and will be played on Sunday at the League Cup final.

n Yesterday’s News wrongly reported that the song had been removed from the club website. The club had removed a Facebook post linking to the song which had to be removed after “abusive” comments were posted.