I know all about the Hibs cup jinx but now my job is to keep it going
SAYS MIXU PAATELAINEN
PEOPLE on the outside may think they know what it’s like. However, until you have been in that dressing room and felt the expectation, or left the pitch in some godforsaken footballing outpost with the catcalls of distraught fans hurtling down, you don’t know diddly from squat.
When Mixu Paatelainen talks about the Scottish Cup hoodoo hanging over his former club Hibs, he’s speaking from experience.
As a player, he was part of the team who lost a replay away to Stirling Albion. And he was on the pitch when they lost the 2001 Final to Celtic 3-0.
Throw in a derby loss to Hearts in the Cup when he was manager of the Easter Road club and, quite frankly, he qualifies as an expert on a jinx that has been running since the club last captured the trophy in 1902.
That problem is no longer Paatelainen’s, of course.
Unfortunately for the Finn, he now has a whole new set of his own to worry about as manager of a Dundee United side who seem to spin from one crisis to another
And who, ironically, will be looking to extend the Hibs hoodoo in tomorrow’s Hampden semi-final while trying to provide some glimmer of hope for themselves at the tail end of a nightmare season which looks sure to culminate in relegation from the Premiership.
‘It (the hoodoo) was talked about a lot,’ said Paatelainen yesterday, as he took a break from his Tannadice woes to recall his spells as player and manager in Leith.
‘Of course it plays on the minds of players and fans, and anyone associated with the club, because it is such a long time.
‘I don’t think it adds any more pressure. If you are a strong character you say: “Let’s be heroes” or “Let’s break the hoodoo.”
‘It’s a chance to put yourself on the map. If you are a weak character it becomes: “Oh no, we haven’t won it for 100 years …”
‘Are Hibs under more pressure? I don’t know — you would have to ask them.
‘We want to reach the Final and do well and possibly lift the trophy, so that brings pressure on its own. Every time we play we want to do well and win.
‘The history for Hibs as a club in the Scottish Cup has not been too good. One day it will change.’
As fond as he remains of his old outfit, his intention is obviously to extend their suffering tomorrow.
For a United team hurtling headlong towards the Championship, any shot at consolation — a cup final appearance, maybe even lifting the trophy — is to be grabbed with both hands.
Better since the turn of the year, yet still adrift at the foot of the Premiership, United have been susceptible to the kind of lapses rather cruelly — but indelibly — associated with their opponents this weekend.
For Paatelainen, the giveaways and howlers are more about variable ability than any fatal mental weakness, the fiery Finn pointing to his team’s remarkable quarter-final win over Ross County as evidence that they have enough character to go all the way.
‘Yes we do — we have seen it before,’ he said.
‘Against Ross County we went a man down and 2-1 down and we managed to draw level and win. If there was a time for a team to show character, that was it.
‘We have been struggling in certain games but the spirit and character has brought us level. There’s no problem with that.
‘The issue is sometimes with the quality of the play and staying awake in certain situations. That’s what has caused the inconsistency this season. That is something that in the short run is hard to correct, but we are working very hard.
‘I can’t remember, recently, a time when our mental toughness and physicality has been questioned. We have shown the total opposite. Early on in the season it was lacking but we have developed immensely on that front.
‘When you have a squad, you have strong players and not so strong players. How they see a semi-final and view winning a trophy is key.
‘Is it a burden or a carrot? That’s what it’s all about. You have 25-30 players with different personalities and they handle it differently.
‘We want 11 players on the pitch unfazed by the occasion and making sure they see the carrot of winning a trophy.
‘Any player wants to play in cup finals and win trophies. Winning this would give us a chance.’
Despite being separated by an entire division, these teams have met once before this season, Hibs running out 3-0 winners on what Paatelainen calls a ‘black night’ in the League Cup.
It’s fair to say that the fortunes of both sides have changed since that November night at Easter Road, the United boss admitting: ‘Hibs were by far the better team that night — and we didn’t play well. It was a poor, poor night and Hibs deserved it.
‘I’m sure they are confident because of that night. They will remember how they attacked and how many chances they had.
‘We remember that black night and we don’t feel too good about that. We have a tough opponent ahead of us and it won’t be easy.
‘It is never easy for us, especially with the way we’ve been going, very inconsistent.
‘Some days we’ve been good, some days we’ve been horrendous.
‘Without consistency, we can’t have success throughout the season. Hopefully, Saturday is a positive day for us.
‘We’ve been inconsistent — and so have our opponents. Hibs have been up and down as well. So there are a few question marks in the air.’
That’s a neatly understated way of putting it. Relying on the form guide for this tie, you’d probably back both sides to lose.
If there may be plenty of drama in a contest with so much at stake, the Hampden pitch — newly laid earlier this week and looking distinctly fresh-but-oddly-artificial yesterday — might just play as crucial a role as any gifted individual.
‘I saw it there,’ said Paatelainen, who was at the national stadium to promote the game. ‘I obviously didn’t go on it. I don’t know what it’s going to be like.
‘It looked very good so hopefully — and I’m sure — it will be in good condition. I assume it’s going to be fine. This is Hampden Park, the national stadium, so we expect the grass to be in tip-top condition.
‘I won’t even mention it to our players. Obviously I’m talking about it now, having been asked. But I don’t talk about it with them. We don’t have any issues with it all.’