Rankin says Mixu has made United a much tougher animal to the one dumped at Easter Road in League Cup WE’LL NOT BE BASHED NOW
But the midfielder insists Mixu Paatelainen’s side are now an entirely different beast.
Back in early November, Alan Stubbs’ free-flowing Hibs ran riot at Easter Road as they chalked up a comprehensive 3- 0 quarter-final victory over their Premiership opponents before going on to lose last month’s final with Ross County.
The defeat in Edinburgh piled more misery on the Tayside club who hadn’t long appointed Paatelainen to succeed Jackie McNamara at the helm in their fight against relegation.
Now they have the chance to wreak some measure of revenge when they face their Edinburgh rivals in next weekend’s Scottish Cup semifinal at Hampden – with Rankin adamant they’ve become a much tougher nut to crack since their drubbing more than five months ago.
Rankin said: “It’s a different mindset now.
“From that night at Easter Road, there might only be something like two or three players who are still here from the side which started that game.
“Adam Taggart, Aaron Kuhl and John Souttar have all gone, for example.
“So there have been big changes, plus the fact the manager had only arrived a couple of weeks before that.
“We hadn’t had a lot of games under him by then. And to be honest, that was probably the biggest run-around I’ve had this season.
“Hibs were great that night. When they start the game well at Easter Road, the fans get behind them and that was certainly one of those nights when we were made to suffer.”
Rankin, who played for Hibs between 2008-2011, watched his old club lose to County in the recent League Cup Final at Hampden but doesn’t expect that disappointment to play on the players’ minds come next Saturday’s showdown.
He said: “I don’t think that will be a factor, they won’t be thinking about what happened the last time they went to Hampden.
“I would imagine they will be desperate to get back there and make amends. They will want to experience another cup final.
“Once you sample an atmosphere like that, you are always desperate for more.”
Rankin is well aware of the pressure Hibs are under to try to end their well-documented Scottish Cup hoodoo which last saw the club lift the famous old trophy in 1902.
But the ex-Hibees star doesn’t think their current crop of players will be unduly affected by that statistic.
He said: “I know that from the fans’ point of view they are desperate to win the Scottish Cup. I remember one preseason being asked if this could be Hibs’ year to win it?
“So I thought to myself ‘no pressure there then!’
“I don’t believe in hoodoos. I think the best team will win on the day. It’s about whichever team turns up, nothing to do with hoodoos.
“Hibs have a lot of good young players whom I admire. They’ve got their careers all ahead of them – and they’re out to make a name for themselves.
“I’ve seen them this season and that night at Easter Road I was very impressed.”
As well as trying to emulate their Scottish Cup-winning side of 2010, United are frantically fighting to remain in the top flight with the club eight points behind second bottom Kilmarnock with just five league games left.
Rankin, 32, is one of the Tannadice club’s more experienced campaigners – but the midfielder can’t prioritise between winning the cup and staying up, such is the importance of both competitions.
He said: “Ultimately, the league is our bread and butter. I’m desperate to stay up. I don’t want relegation on my CV.
“I’ve said that to the boys. Every one of us knows what it means for this club to be in the Premiership next season.
“As a professional, I don’t think you can chose between one or the other. You’ve just got to go and give your all.
“If you’re asking me which I’d prefer, I will just give it my lot and see where it takes me.
“I’d be happy to reach a Hampden final as well as stay in the Premiership.
“All I want is to look in the dressing-room at the end of the season and know that we gave everything.
“At this moment, I’m not going to chose between league safety or winning the cup. I want to achieve both.”
And Rankin knows that Mixu will have his players ready for battle come next Saturday. Rankin suffers against Hibs in October 2014 as he misses a penalty in the League Cup quarter final but his side still won through and he is confident he can see off the Easter Road side this time in the Scottish Cup