Driver can’t find escape route from capital chaos

in common with his team-mates and their opponents, Andy Driver has devoted just about every waking moment to tomorrow’s Scottish Cup final. Even when he thought he could take a quick break from the mayhem and pop out for a bite to eat, the Hearts winger has found it impossible to escape the frenzy.

“Every time you leave the house the cup final gets mentioned,” he explained. “If you go into Greggs, you’ll get someone coming up to you telling you you’d better win. And if you don’t then it will be down to the fact you’re in Greggs and eating too much.

“But of course I’m only in there for the low-fat chicken sandwiches on wholemeal bread. None of the steak bakes or the spicy bakes – which are amazing, apparently – for me.

“That kind of thing sums it up, though: everyone is just so excited about it. I really started thinking about it the other night and it was like being 15 again, sitting dreaming about scoring the winner in the Scottish Cup. The adrenalin starts to kick in and you know we’re close to touching the cup.

“I stay in Leith and have a lot of Hibs-supporting mates, so it’s what’s on everyone’s minds. We have to put everything to one side and just treat it like another game. We don’t want to get too wrapped up in it. I just want to keep a low profile and get on with the game.”

In Saturday’s bumper 24-page Scotsman Sport pull-out, the latest interviews, features and exclusives from the Hibs and Hearts camps ahead of the all-Edinburgh Scottish Cup final.

Although born in Lancashire, Driver has lived in Scotland since the age of 11, and has first-hand knowledge of how important this game is to both Edinburgh clubs. “Most of my pals are Hearts fans and they are putting as much pressure on as the Hibs ones I know,” the 24-year-old explained.

“It’s the biggest game I’ve ever been involved in, because there’s so much if you win and so much if you lose. If you win the game it’s one of the best seasons of your life: if you lose it it’s an absolute disaster. It’s not an ordinary cup final.

“It’s probably the biggest game in these clubs’ history. There are so many ingredients to it, the derby and the fact it has been so long since an all-Edinburgh cup final.

“You don’t want to be one of the players who goes into this game and doesn’t win the cup. Losing this game is not an option.”

After struggling with injury earlier in the season, Driver has claimed a regular place in Paulo Sergio’s team in recent months and is steadily returning to his best form.

“I am still not there 100 per cent in terms of performance, but my fitness is better and my workrate is better as a result,” he added. “There couldn’t be a better game to save it all for than this one, I suppose. Hopefully everything will fall into place.”