Momentum not lost says Cathro

IAN Cathro i nsists t he William Hill Scottish Cup advantage has not swung from Hearts to Hibs ahead of their Easter Road replay.

A drab goalless draw in the fifth-round clash at Tynecastle means the Edinburgh rivals have to do it again in Leith tomorrow night.

However, the Jambos head coach does not believe momentum has been lost by the Ladbrokes Premiership side.

He said: “Not at all. I didn’t feel that throughout the game, I don’t feel it now.

“There is nothing about what happened in the first game that makes me feel any less convinced about what our position is in this game.

“The first game gives us i n fo r m a t i o n . We h av e played against the opponents, maybe they will be a little bit different but there won’t be too many changes I would imagine.

“Everyone feels quite clear with what we will be faced with.”

Hibs boss Neil Lennon lashed out at his players following the 1-1 draw with Raith Rovers at Stark’s Park even though it stretched the Easter Road side’s lead at the top of the Championship to seven points.

“We were an absolute disgrace”, said Lennon.

However, Cathro insists the Hibs players did not need that dressing down to fire them up.

He said: “I t hink you would have that just the same as if they had won 5-0 at the weekend. I don’t see any difference”

Hibs knocked Hearts out of the cup last season in a replay at Easter Road on their way to winning the trophy for the first time in 114 years.

Cathro believes the Hearts squad is better able to cope this year.

He said: “I see a Hearts team now that is stronger and more ready to deal with the part of the game when we need to suffer and need to fight.”

Hearts head coach Ian Cathro.