Why Scottish Cup win would mean so much to Hibs fans - and what huge travelling support says about mood
Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline represent formidable foes in lunchtime TV kick-off
Every team still left in the competition would love to win the Scottish Cup, obviously. Probably half of those involved in this fourth round might even consider themselves genuine contenders. Or at least sneaky outsiders.
For a great many Hibs fans, however, something more urgent than hope, and more time sensitive than the annual bout of optimism, is at work. A need, more than a desire. A recognition that, approaching ten years on from the club’s finest hour, and with the top end of Scottish football in a state of unexpected turmoil, they may well be a lucky bounce or friendly draw away from a dream repeat.
And, yes, with a nod to events in the Scottish Premiership, there’s also a suspicion that rounding off the season with a trophy parade and party on Leith Links might even be the bare minimum required for Easter Road regulars to survive a long summer, should the title race deliver the greatest shock of the modern era. Nothing in football is ever a long way removed from the down-and-dirty business of local rivalry.
David Gray identifies ‘mentality’ as key
As upwards of 5000 Hibs supporters cross the Forth for a reunion of sorts with former Easter Road gaffer Neil Lennon today, then, there will be expectation in the air. And a demand that David Gray’s men make short work of a Dunfermline side boasting plenty of talent in key areas.
“The Scottish Cup, it's always got that feel about it,” said Gray, when asked about the sold-out away allocation for East End Park, the Hibs boss adding: “And I think even though it's live on the telly, I think it's a good game to go to. It's a good surface and a good side that will make it a difficult game for us. It's got all the makings of that.
“The biggest focus for us is about the mentality of the players and making sure that they're bang at it right from the very start. Because it's going to be a good atmosphere that they go and play in as well.”
Pressed on what the bumper travelling fan base said about the importance placed on this tie by Hibs fans, and asked whether he could use that as a reminder to players of what was at stake, Gray said: “Yeah, I think so, but I don't think that I need to really do that. I don’t think the players are unaware of that. I think it's a sign of where the club's at, right at this moment in time.
“When you think about this season, thinking back to the European stuff, even the Motherwell game last weekend, selling the stadium out again. How many sell-outs have we had in the last, I don't know, six months, 12 months maybe?
“The connection clearly between the football club, the fans and the players is very, very strong. And the players have earned that.
“I think they need to know that doesn't just happen by accident. You need to keep going with that. Because that's what a successful club looks like.”
Tenth anniversary of 2016 Hampden glory
Gray spoke earlier this week about not believing in fate, specifically any feeling that Hibs are somehow destined to mark the 10th anniversary of their Scottish Cup win – and his own greatest moment in football – with a repeat. But oh, how he’d love to enjoy an entirely new thrill at Hampden on May 23.
Asked if it felt like almost a full decade since he rose to head home the winner against Rangers, sweeping aside 114 years of hurt in the process, the former club captain said: “Sometimes yes and sometimes no. If I'm being honest, probably not. That 10 years seems very, very quick, to be honest.
“The greatest moment I've had on a football pitch, that's for sure, was 10 years ago, which is quite bizarre really. But I think, from our point of view, from a football club's point of view, that was after 114 years. The heartache, everything that went into that, what it meant to the football club at that time, was a very special occasion to be involved in.
“We've had 10 years now of trying to do that every single year and setting the objective to try and win the trophy again - and that doesn't change. This year is exactly the same.
“It’s a genuine opportunity to try and win something. You need a lot of things to go in your favour and firstly, we've got a very difficult game to contend with first.”
Asked if it would mean as much to win the trophy this season as it did back in 2016, Gray didn’t hesitate before declaring: “Yeah, every year would be the same. Every single year that you go into it, I think about that.
“Obviously 10 years ago, everybody knew what it meant to everybody. I always knew it was going to be a big thing. I think the players that were involved in it always knew it would be a big thing.
“It's probably now that I've retired and stopped playing that I probably appreciate more the magnitude of it. So it was a special day - and I certainly would really like to see it again.
“The objective at the start of the season is to try and win a trophy. And this is the very first game on that journey.”
While Gray is focused on ensuring that his players are mentally prepared for whatever Dunfermline throw at them, defender Jack Iredale insists Hibs can take confidence from recent history. Specifically last season’s ‘banana skin’ trip to face Scott Brown’s Ayr United at Somerset Park on a cold Friday night identified by many a pundit as a potential shock.
“I think we can look back to going to Ayr last season,” said Iredale, the Aussie adding: “Similar to this, it was on TV, people are hoping for an upset.
“It’s all about your attitude, your application and then your quality comes before that. You need to do the basics right, you need to work hard, you need to run hard and then bring your qualities. We know that they're going to be right up for it - and we will be as well.”