History tour
for Jason Cummings, meant Hibs established a four-point lead over the Tannadice side at the top of the Championship. Harper liked what he saw of someone who follows in a great tradition of Hibs wingers.
“Humphrey is someone who wants to run and knock the ball past people,” he said. “You don’t need a trick if you have that genuine pace, believe it or not. I think players tend to think ‘I need to do a trick’.
“The best thing to do is put the ball past a defender and see if they are as fast as you – if not you are onto a winner right away.”
But perhaps the last word should go to Jim Mills, the chairman of the Central Hibs supporters’ club, who couldn’t resist travelling to St Andrews to take a few last photos of himself with the Scottish Cup.
PETER HART He reckons he has over 20 already, in “eight or nine” different locations.
With tears forming in his eyes, he spoke of the day Hibs lifted the Scottish Cup as if it was a spiritual awakening or a religious conversion.
“My father is buried in the cemetery behind Easter Road,” he said.
“At my wedding day, I was married 200 yards from Easter Road, the priest mentioned it: ‘The only day to surpass this will be if Hibs win the Scottish Cup’.”
He agreed that this year’s tournament is likely to go one of two ways for Hibs. Either they win it again, or they get knocked out at their first hurdle next Saturday against Bonnyrigg Rose, at Tynecastle of all places.
“But it doesn’t matter anymore,” he smiled. New Rangers signing Emerson Hyndman reckons he will be able to fit right in at Ibrox after completing his loan switch from Bournemouth.
The USA international has joined Rangers until the end of the season after struggling to make his mark with the Cherries.
The 20-year-old joined Eddie Howe’s side in the summer on a free transfer from Fulham.
But he has made just three cup appearances so far and has signed for Mark Warburton’s side in a bid to gain some much-needed game time.
And he believes the similarities in style of play between the Premier League outfit and his new club will ensure he hits the ground running. He told Rangerstv: “I think the two clubs have similar styles which makes it an easy transition and all the boys have helped me out on my first day.
“The philosophy here is the same as Bournemouth in the way that they like to press, but, when they have the ball, they like to keep it in attack.
“In that way, it is very similar which will hopefully make my transition a lot easier.
“I got Eddie Howe’s input before I signed. He had no problems or worries with me coming here at all because he fully believes the manager here is very good and good with young players as well, so he had no problems with handing me over to him.
“There were a lot of reasons I wanted to sign for Rangers, it is a massive club, they are fighting for Europe and there are good players here.
“I think it is a good opportunity for me to play in, not just a good environment, but in front of 50,000 fans at home, which is absolutely unbelievable. That is why I chose to come here.
“That is part of the reason my manager back at Bournemouth thought here would be a really good choice, to be exposed to that at my age is always a good thing. “What I want to do here is be a good player for Rangers and help Rangers, but to get all that experience with it is a bonus and just helps me.”
Hyndman’s arrival is likely to be swiftly followed by another, with Warburton confident he can land Arsenal’s Jon Toral on another six-month loan deal. Talks with Toral are ongoing but Rangers are hoping to unveil the Spanish midfielder alongside Hyndman today.
The 21-year-old spent the first half of the season on loan with Granada but has returned to London after a frustrating stint in his homeland.
Toral has taken on Barcelona in the Nou Camp this term, but that was one of just six appearances he has registered for the La Liga side.
“It means everything to me. If you could have seen me watching the cup final at The Charles Dickens in Melbourne, Iwasintears.itwasthe bestdayofmylife–it really was... until my grandson was born. I wanted to go and see the cup, but I thought I was going to run out of opportunites”