Hearts and Hibs play key roles in rival desire for Scottish Cup glory as rare situation unfolds
The Falkirk boss believes because of the open nature of this season’s competition that anyone can win it.
Falkirk boss John McGlynn senses Hearts and Hibs’ early eliminations from the Scottish Cup has presented a rare opportunity for a new force to lift the domestic prize.
The Bairns will face Dundee United at home on Friday night in a match where they can secure their spot at Hampden. Ex-Jambos boss McGlynn previously defeated Hearts at Tynecastle in a penalty shootout in the Round of 32 after a 1-1 draw. Meanwhile, Hibs were eliminated from the tournament at the same stage, as they lost 1-0 to Championship side Dunfermline Athletic, thanks to a late Miguel Chaiwa own goal.
With Rangers and Celtic being drawn against one another before the semi-final stage for the first time in five years, it means three non-Old Firm sides will be having their day out at Hampden this season. After Motherwell were knocked out by Aberdeen last month, Falkirk remain the only non-Old Firm side in the top six who remain in the competition.
With Hearts and Hibs out anything can happen - McGlynn
McGlynn already has Hampden experience as Bairns boss but believes the wide open nature of this season’s domestic cup offers them a golden opportunity. Speaking ahead of the Dundee United clash, the former Hearts boss said: "It's been mentioned all over the place with one of Celtic and Rangers going out.
“Then Hibs and Hearts are out, maybe we will never get a better year to get to a final and potentially win. We've just got to concentrate on the job. There's no getting away from that, otherwise it doesn't matter who's in or who's out. There's no doubt the teams still in there will like their chances. Obviously we managed to go to Tynecastle and come out winners.
"Dunfermline beat Hibs and they'll be thinking if they can beat Hibs, they can beat Aberdeen. So everyone's going to be looking at it from their point of view — how they could go on and do better. But the reality is you've just got to take care of what is right in front of you right now."
Financial Cup incentive for Falkirk boss
The veteran coach steered The Bairns to the Scottish Cup semi-finals in 2023 when his side were still in the third tier. While they were defeated 3-0 by then-Championship side Inverness Caledonian Thistle, McGlynn believes the financial benefits the club gained from their cup run helped them secure back-to-back promotions in the following seasons.
He continued: "There's loads of things going on here. The finance we would get from this would be huge. That will help me in the budget going forward and that's significant for this football club. It boosts the confidence. I would like to think that would help to continue the development of the squad and keep our best players and try to give them new and better contracts. Likewise, we could bring players in to try to keep us and ideally make us better going forward. It's going to take a bit of strong mentality, strong physicality and quality in between. We can't wait."