Mickey Weir points way to Holy Grail for Hibs

Former trophy winner says McPake can make the difference

Mickey Weir knows what it is like to win a trophy with Hibernian, having been part of the team which beat Dunfermline in the League Cup final of 1991. But as a Hibs supporter all his days, the former winger also knows that the triumph of that team will fade into insignificance if the present generation of Hibs players win the Scottish Cup tomorrow.

“This is the Holy Grail to Hibernian supporters,” he said this week. “This is massive for the club. It’s all about owning the bragging rights in the Edinburgh derby forever, and it just happens to be the Scottish Cup final.

“It’s a special occasion and the whole of the East are travelling through to the West. But if they thought the celebrations after we won the League Cup in 1991 were great, that will be a tea party compared to the scenes that you will see if Hibernian finally get their hands on the Scottish Cup.

“My nerves are shot. It’s anticipation and I think everybody just wants to get it on now and get the game started.

“I have been part of a cup final myself with Hibs and the build-up is the hardest part. The players just want to get on the field and get on with the game once all the media stuff is finished.”

As a fan, Weir has suffered this season, watching Hibs flirt with relegation for months before finally pulling clear with a home win over Dunfermline last week. That game sent the Fife team down, so was essentially a knockout match – one which Weir believes was ideal preparation for tomorrow’s final.

“That was a big game for Hibs, and they performed well that night and that was exactly what they needed going into a cup final,” he continued. “Inverness [a 2-0 defeat last Saturday] was not a great display, but a lot of players were left out by the manager, so that result was understandable with the Scottish Cup final in mind.

“I thought against Dunfermline we looked a good side and that was the best I’d seen us play in a long time. That has given us great heart going into the Scottish Cup final.

“It was a difficult game and the early goals helped Hibs. There was a great atmosphere inside the ground and we’ll need something similar if we’re to beat Hearts. We need to perform and the good players need to turn up and play well and if they do that then we have a good chance of lifting the trophy.”

Asked who those ‘good players’ were, Weir unsurprisingly nominated the strikers and the captain. “Leigh Griffiths and Garry O’Connor are potential matchwinners, and James McPake at the back of the pack is an out-and-out winner and he looks like he wants to win every time he steps on the park.

“He’s a natural leader of men, and Hibs have lacked that for a number of seasons now. McPake looks as if he’s enjoying playing for the club.

“He’s the kind of player to drive you on. When we won the Skol Cup in 1991, we had the likes of Murdo MacLeod spurring and driving us on. We were under huge pressure to win the League Cup against Dunfermline in 1991 because we were overwhelming favourites.

“Hearts will be the favourites going into this one and that can be a burden on its own to carry for their players. Hopefully the Hibs players can go to Hampden and enjoy the occasion and perform.”