LET’S FILL HAMPDEN
cards should be wiped from the record for any showpiece final. ‘Having two bookings (as the limit) in a cup competition is ridiculous,’ said Warren. ‘Especially being a defender, it means you can’t tackle — and that’s part and parcel of being a defender, making challenges, making interceptions, making blocks. ‘To have something like that taken away from you is a little bit gutting. I think it should be looked at. They
should either increase the number of bookings needed to get a suspension or, if you get to the Final, wipe it out completely. ‘Then it’s fair for everyone, every team that gets to the semi-final, whoever is booked knows it’s a clean slate for the Final.’ Warren knew instantly that he would miss the Final when referee Steven McLean rightly showed him a yellow card for hauling back James Forrest. More annoying for the 30-year-old is that his previous booking in the competition came for dissent, as he explained: ‘That was my own fault, gobbing off to a referee. It was disappointing because I should have kept my mouth shut. ‘It was against Partick Thistle; that was me getting frustrated and being too gobby to the referee. ‘That one hurt the most because this one was a tackle and a foul but the first one was a very silly booking. ‘I’m 30 years old and I should know better. ‘When you come into this game you always think about it and wonder, what if? But if you start allowing it to play on your mind then you’re going to pull out of tackles. I won’t do that. ‘After missing last year’s Final, I’m gutted again. It’s just lady luck. You take it on the chin and move on.’ Warren insists he will definitely not be doing a John Terry and turning up in full kit to take part in any celebrations should Caley Thistle beat Falkirk in the Final. ‘No, that’s not me at all, no chance,’ he added. ‘I’ll be in the background somewhere, in the stands. ‘I suppose you kind of feel not part of it in the Final but I’ll still have a few beers. For the size of Inverness, as a small club, to get to a final for a second successive year is an unbelievable achievement. ‘Everything is in our hands. We’ve got to bring back silverware for the way we’ve worked in the last three seasons.’