Neilson will take detour as Hampden hype builds

ROBBIE Neilson will head to Hampden via a pit stop at Gayfield Park this afternoon — as the Hearts boss looks to escape the hype ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Cup final.

The Championship leaders aim to thwart Celtic’s hopes of landing an incredible quadruple Treble behind closed doors at the national stadium.

But Neilson admits he has been doing everything he can to take the sting out of the rearranged showpiece finale to last season.

And if that means he’ll be having a look at potential opponents in the second tier as well as keeping an eye on tomorrow’s more illustrious opponents, then so be it.

‘The build-up is still the same,’ insisted the Hearts boss. ‘Whether it’s now or the end of the season, you still have a good week’s training leading into it.

‘We had the league games that we had to take care of — and I’ll be going up to watch Arbroath v Ayr United before travelling down.

‘We’ll train at Riccarton, then the boys are going to the hotel, so I’d only be sitting about at the hotel anyway. I’d rather be watching a game.

‘It’s a bit surreal. The cup final is usually the climax of the season in the sunshine.

‘But we’ re just glad to be there and looking forward to it. Hopefully, it’s a decent Christmas present for the fans.

‘It’s a great opportunity for us to go and win a cup following a difficult period at the club for everyone — the fans, the staff. Hopefully, we can repay them.’

A Scottish Cup winner as a player with Heart sin 2006, Neil son obviously retains a special affection for the competition.

Pleased that last season’ s tournament is being played out and thrilled to have defeated city rivals Hibs in the re-arranged semi-final, he believes the entire squad will carry a little extra motivation into tomorrow’s clash.

‘When you are a player, or even a kid growing up, you dream of playing for your country and playing in a Scottish Cup final,’ he said. ‘ That’s something which is a massive part in our development of young kids coming through — giving them a motivation and drive to win it.

‘The players will have their own internal motivation of what they want to win it for. They understand the magnitude of the game.

‘A lot of players will go through their entire life and not win a Scottish Cup so t here is a great opportunity to not only play in one, but come away with a winners’ medal.

‘ Everybody’s different. Some guys will be calm. Some vocal. For me, it’s just about getting yourself ready for the game.

‘Every player needs a different motivation for the game. Ultimately it’s up to them to be ready when they’re out there. We’ve got guys who have played in big games before so they know how to do that.

‘We played in that game against Gretna (the 2006 final) and, yes, we were the favourites but it was a very tight game that went to penalty kicks.

‘We’re not the favourites for this game but we feel we’ve got a really good chance of getting a result. I thought we handled the semi-final very well. Coming into it having played only a couple of games before, it showed me the players we’ve got can handle the big occasions. They can handle going to Hampden and getting a result against a good team.’

Neilson isn’t buying any of the negative hype around a misfiring Celtic team.

Neil Lennon’s men may have struggled of late but the Hearts boss can point to numerous examples when they have lulled teams into a false sense of security before shooting them down.

‘People say they are not playing as well as t hey have done previously and haven’t had the results — but they are still a very good team.

‘Look at their first half against Aberdeen in the semi-final, which was probably the best they’ve played in a very long time.

‘In a Scottish Cup final, they’ll be up for it and at it. We need to be ready.

‘Small margins are a big thing. You watch some of their games, like against Ross County, and they could have been two or three up. But t hey didn’t t ake t heir chances.

‘In the game last Sunday against Kilmarnock, it got to the second half before they scored, but they could have already been two or three up. Sometimes things don’t go your way.

‘The only difference with Celtic is they’ve been playing a 3-5-2 instead of the usual 4-2-3-1. We’ll do work on both to prepare in case they change during the game.

‘In terms of our actual team, I’ve a rough idea who will play and who’ll come into the team. We’ve got a group of 16 players who can all play and that’s who we’ll pick from.’

Neilson admits his biggest selection headache surrounds whether to take a punt on Josh Ginnelly from the start.

The on- l oan Preston winger, having spent almost two months out with a thigh injury, made the most of a half-hour cameo by scoring in last weekend’s 6-1 win over Queen of the South.

‘We got him some game time on Saturday and he did really well,’ said Neilson. ‘He trained this week as well. I will make a decision closer to the time on whether we think he is ready to start or make more of an impact off the bench. He has given himself every opportunity, that’s for sure.

‘Big pitch, big areas, use his pace, use his counter-attacking skills as well as his one v ones. He’ll definitely be a big part of it for us.’

I’ll be going up to Arbroath to watch their game with Ayr