Last time we won the Cup I still ended up as a loser
Arfield desperate to sign off with silver after agony in ’09
SCOTT ARFIELD didn’t need the suffering of Seville to further charge his Scottish Cup Final glory bid.
The Rangers star already had 13 years of frustration building up to take to Hampden.
Ironically, the last time the Ibrox club lifted the silverware, their current midfield ace still ended up on the losing side.
Arfield was part of the Falkirk team who were defeated by Nacho Novo’s winner at the national stadium in 2009.
Now 33, he’s back for the end-ofseason showpiece looking to make sure he doesn’t again suffer Final pain and also to ensure that Rangers have something silver to show from a gruelling campaign.
Arfield said: “It took me that long to forget, so thanks for reminding me. It was a long time ago, but it was a disappointing day.
“You want to win as many trophies and medals as you can, so it was a sad day.
“It was probably hotter [than Seville] that day. The climate was very similar. It was pure disappointment.
“Whenever you lose a game of any magnitude, particularly a cup final, it is gutting. “I said after the game you need to remember those feelings because it drives you on to have a better feeling. “You bottle the positive and the negative, so on Saturday, hopefully, it is a different feeling that I have got. “It would mean a lot because this trophy has been away from this football club for a number of years now. We have an opportunity now to bring it back.” Despite the highs of the European run to Spain, defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt has placed added significance onto today’s clash with Hearts.
Arfield admits Rangers are judged on winning trophies and this offers a final opportunity of the term to get one in the bag.
He said: “You always under that expectation that you need to win games, especially in a cup final.
“The whole season always depends on when you get here. So we have an opportunity to put things right and get silverware and we are fully focused on doing so.”
Arfield is adamant the events of midweek have to and will be put aside for the game against Robbie Neilson’s troops.
Of course, the pain is not going to go away. It was a huge chance for the player and his team-mates to become legends and it will hurt for a long time. Perhaps even forever.
But it can’t fester at Hampden. Arfield knows that big games come
thick and fast at Rangers and any setbacks, no matter how big, have to be quickly cast aside for the next assignment.
For Arfield, that process begins in the mirror. Get yourself right first and foremost and then the squad can get right as a unit.
Asked who you turn to after such a heartbreaking experience, he explained: “Myself, that’s all you can do.
“Football is a collective team sport, of course but it is run by individuals. So if an individual is down in the dumps and not positive, it takes a hold on the collective.
“So I think everyone needs to make sure they are all right and then drum the message into the collective group to go again. We have a massive opportunity to put Wednesday night out of sight.
“Obviously, the disappointment will hold but now we have an opportunity to get silverware before the end of the season. On Wednesday night, you think about the pure disappointment and what you went through but you quickly get over it because it is a Cup Final and, as a team, we feel we can go and win.
“There’s no doubt about it, after the game, you think about it, you get up on Thursday you are travelling back and it is forgotten about because we have a massive game.
“It is all about being positive now. We will give Hearts the utmost respect they deserve. It’s been an absolutely tremendous season from them, so we know it is going to be a difficult game for us.
“If we still have a hangover from Wednesday night, it is going to be a difficult game, no doubt.”