TRAINING IN HEAT WILL FIRE UP HIBS, SAYS STUBBS

ALAN STUBBS insists his weary players will be rejuvenated following their warm-winter break in Spain as he attempts to steer Hibernian to their first silverware in nine years. The stuttering Easter Road club’s 1-1 Scottish Cup quarter-final draw with Premiership side Inverness Caley Thistle on Sunday came hot on the heels of three damaging league defeats that have left their Championship title challenge in tatters. Stubbs and his squad touched down yesterday in the Costa del Sol for a training camp in the La Cala Resort in Mijas to escape the poor Scottish weather and the damaged pitches after a wash-out winter. And the Hibs boss hopes a full week of training in the best conditions will give Hibs the best possible chance of toppling Ross County in Sunday’s League Cup Final to win the trophy for the first time since March 2007. ‘It’s been a heavy schedule over the last month with 10 games in the space of 32 days,’ said Stubbs. ‘So it will be nice for the players to get a little bit of sun on their backs just to re-energise them. ‘We all know going away to a bit of sun does make you feel good rather than turning up for training and all you see is rain, snow and wind. ‘The pitches in Scotland have been really poor lately and our training pitches have been really heavy. With the uncertainty over the weather, we are going to go to an environment where we know we’re going to get a good surface. We know we are going to get a decent climate where we can stop and walk through things without having to worry about players being cold.’ Stubbs (right) also feels his team will benefit from being away from the hype surrounding the Final back home. ‘I want to try to take them away from all the publicity around the game and have an enclosed training camp where it’s just us,’ he said. ‘We can work on things for the game in a relaxed environment away from all the TV attention. ‘I am pleased the club have backed and trusted me by letting me take the boys away.’ Meanwhile, Stubbs last night confirmed Dylan McGeouch is out of the League Cup Final. The midfielder limped out of Sunday’s clash with Caley Thistle with a groin strain, having just returned from a similar but not identical injury. He flew to Spain with his team-mates yesterday but Stubbs said: ‘We are all disappointed for Dylan. He is obviously gutted.’