Craig Brown wants end to place in Europe for losing finalists

• Craig Brown (left) at the Cup semi-final draw. Picture: SNS

While the Motherwell manager is normally happy to embrace the romance of the cup, he admits he does not welcome the prospect of First Division clubs reaching the final and possibly denying his own team European football next season. Scottish football's Uefa co-efficient ranking has sustained significant damage in recent years as several Scottish Cup runners-up, including Gretna, Queen of the South and Dunfermline have exited European competition at the first hurdle. Brown believes it is time to scrap the rule which hands beaten Scottish Cup finalists a Europa League place.

Yesterday's semi-final draw, which Brown conducted at Hampden along with tournament benefactor Willie Haughey, saw Celtic paired with the winners of the Ross County-Hibernian quarter-final replay while Raith Rovers will face Rangers if the cup holders can overcome Dundee United in their last-eight replay.

An Old Firm final, which would be the first since 2002, would ensure that all three of Scotland's berths in next season's Europa League would go to the clubs finishing from third to fifth place in the SPL this year.

"Selfishly, I do look towards an Old Firm final as a good thing because it would give Motherwell a better chance of playing in Europe," said Brown.

"I do like the romance of the cup and like to see the underdogs doing well. When you have Ross County and Raith Rovers still being in the competition at this stage, you like to see them doing well and it would be great for one or the other to make it to the final.

"But I know the losing team in the cup final getting into Europe has done a bit of damage for Scottish football. I feel that the league position should be more of a determining factor of the teams who represent Scotland.

"That's no disrespect to the likes of Queen of the South or Gretna, as I have great regard for what they did in recent seasons. I just feel the team who were next in the SPL league table should have been the international representative. It's different if you win the Scottish Cup, of course. But it is possible to reach the final without playing a team from the top division, as Gretna did four years ago."

Brown's sentiment will not be shared by those connected with the two First Division clubs still dreaming of reaching the final. Raith Rovers are in the last four for the first time since 1963, when they lost their semi-final 5-2 to Celtic at Ibrox. The Kirkcaldy club have only made one Scottish Cup final appearance in their history, losing to Falkirk in 1913.

Raith chairman David Somerville, who has helped the club recover from their troubled times under Claude Anelka, is relishing the prospect of a day out at Hampden next month.

"We won the Second Division title when we beat Queen's Park at Hampden last season but I didn't think we would be back so soon," smiled Somerville.

"It's great to be coming here for a semi-final against Rangers or Dundee United, what more could we want? It's the first game which our financial director has not told me is a must-win game, so financially we must be doing okay from this cup fun. It will make a big difference to a club of our size. In fairness, we are more interested in the

people side of it. It means a lot to the people of Kirkcaldy. There have been a lot of ups and downs in recent times, but the fans turned out in tremendous numbers when we won at Dundee in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

"I got involved at the club four-and-a-half years ago and it was a tough time. Everyone talks about the Anelka years and they were particularly difficult. It didn't work out, and there was a change in 2005.

"There was a myth the club was debt free, but it wasn't and we have been chipping away at it ever since. We were in a position where the club infrastructure was pretty close to being in tatters.

"We've now built it up on and off the park and the most important decision was appointing John McGlynn as manager.

"He took a risk and a drop in salary to come to us from his role as assistant at Hearts but it has worked well. No-one works harder in football than John and he has been fantastic for us."

Raith captain Mark Campbell will be a spectator at Hampden, the defender ruled out for the season after a serious car crash last month. But he takes a philosophical view on missing out on what would have been one of the biggest games of his career.

"Taking everything into consideration, I'm lucky I walked away from that accident," said Campbell. "Things were put into perspective that day. I got a 23-centimetre gash in my left knee and a gash on my head which needed nine stitches. When I saw the car afterwards, it was unrecognisable. It was a head-on smash with a guy overtaking a lorry on what he thought was a dual carriageway. I'm lucky to be alive.

"So I'm disappointed not to be playing football at the moment, but I'll still be there behind the scenes trying to gee the boys up.

"It's amazing that the club are in the semi-finals for the first time in 47 years. First Division clubs have made it to the final in recent years, so hopefully we can do the same.

"It would be something for me to have European football to look forward to when I come back next season."