Kingsley adamant Hearts won’t have eye on Hampden
STEPHEN KINGSLEY is convinced the worst thing Hearts can do against Rangers this afternoon is try to wrap themselves in cotton wool ahead of next weekend’s Scottish Cup final rematch with the Ibrox club.
The defender confesses the dead rubber of a league fixture, just a week out from Hampden, has the potential to be ‘strange’. With Rangers also having their eagerly anticipated Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt in just four days’ time, there could be a temptation for some to slip into self-preservation mode as they contemplate the consequences of an injury.
However, Kingsley insists the Jambos have their sights firmly set on a morale-boosting victory and believes there is potential danger in holding something back.
“On paper, I get that it looks a strange fixture,” he said. “But, as players, the last thing you want to be doing is thinking about next week or about getting injured.
“You need to be completely at it. One, because you can’t afford to not be completely at it, because it is Rangers, no matter if they make changes. And, two, it could actually be worse if you hang back a bit and don’t go fully into challenges.
“You need to be fully at it and fully focused and I know we will be.”
With third place in the Premiership secured a long time ago, Hearts have been desperate not to cruise towards the cup final. Defeats to Celtic and Motherwell in the last week suggest otherwise, but Kingsley is adamant they cannot afford an unwanted hat-trick with Hampden on the horizon.
“It it is disappointing we are coming off the back of a loss on Wednesday,” he added. “Because we are playing them [Rangers] in the cup you want to win. We want to win every game but there is a massive boost if we do go and win, no matter what team they put out.
“If it is their strongest team or a weakened time, it is still all about getting the win and getting that winning feeling back. We have now lost two on the bounce, so more than anything, whether we were playing Rangers or anyone else, it is about getting that momentum back ahead of the final.”
Robbie Neilson is also adamant the Hampden warm-up will go beyond a ‘phoney war’.
The manager insists Hearts have both fitness and tactical targets with just a week to go in their quest for silverware. John Souttar and Craig Halkett are expected to play in a bid to prove their fitness for the final and others need to rediscover their sharpness after injuries.
“Our focus just now is on this game and once that is done then we will focus on the final,” claimed Neilson, who is unsure how many players Rangers might rest ahead of their bid for European glory. “Yes, there is a bit about Souttar coming back, Halkett coming back, about getting [Michael] Smith game-time.
“But for us I think it is important with it being the last game at Tynecastle that we try and win it. Any game you play with Hearts, you are expected to win it. We can’t go into these games and put out a lesser team – because we are expected to win, especially when it is against an Old Firm team at Tynecastle and the last game of the season. “The last game of the season is always important at any club because it can bring that momentum that can carry on into next season as well. The fans have brilliant this season. We’d like to think we can give them a good send off and that gets us ready for the final.”
Meanwhile, Toby Sibbick has recovered from the leg injury he sustained in Wednesday night’s 2-1 defeat to Motherwell and is available to play.