Stubbs is hopeful of dream end to season
AFTER seven weeks that could have been dredged up from his nightmares, Alan Stubbs still has his eyes firmly focused on a dream-like conclusion to this most undulating of campaigns.
The Hibs manager looks ahead to the possibility of eight games in 25 days next month with anticipation rather than anxiety. Bring it on. Despite a painful run of just two wins in 11 outings, he retains confidence in his side’s ability to recapture form when it matters most.
Tuesday night’s dramatic late collapse in a 2-2 draw with Falkirk leaves the Easter Road club looking likely to finish third in the Championship. Should that happen, they would need to win through a six-game sequence in the play-offs to attain promotion.
Then there is the Scottish Cup. Defeating Dundee United tomorrow would earn Hibs a second major final appearance of the season.
A chance to end a 114-year jinx in the nation’s oldest competition would arrive on May 21. If Stubbs’ side were also to make the two-legged play-off final against Premiership opposition, those utterly vital games would bracket the Hampden showpiece on May 17 and May 25.
‘It could be an unbelievable week, couldn’t it?’ argued Stubbs. ‘That’s what you are in this business for.
‘When you look at it, is that not excitement? It all depends whether your glass is half full or half empty. I know which mine is.
‘You will always get the doom-and-gloomers. That’s why I don’t have any around me.
‘Would we like to be in better form by then if it happens? Yes, but we’ve got a long time. We’ve got another four or five weeks.
‘If we are not in good form and it suddenly clicks for the last four weeks of the season, then that is the most important time for it to kick in.
‘You don’t want it to kick in in August. You want it to kick in during May and the end of April.’
The circumstances surrounding tomorrow’s semi-final make it one of the more unusual match-ups.
While Hibs’ drive to exit the Championship has stalled, United are eight points adrift at the foot of the top flight and facing a fight to avoid automatic relegation.
For all the enticement of Scottish Cup success, it could be argued these are two clubs with more significant aims on their minds.
‘At 12.15 on Saturday, neither club will have bigger priorities,’ said Stubbs. ‘Because Saturday will be the most important thing.
‘Promotion is our biggest factor this season and United’s will be trying to stay in the Premiership.
‘But the Scottish Cup becomes our No1 priority on Saturday. I don’t think you can look at it in any other way, shape or form.
‘You can’t prioritise by saying: “Oh, we’ve got a league game next week” or “This is just another game, if we win, we win — if we don’t, we don’t.” You can’t have that mindset.
‘You want to win every game, whether it is league or cup. Otherwise you shouldn’t be doing this job.
‘When things don’t go your way, you have to help yourself. It would be very easy for me to turn round and point to a couple of decisions that haven’t gone our way but you have to help yourself.
‘Have we been at the levels of earlier in the season? The answer would be no.
‘We know we are in the play-offs. That’s a fact. Ideally, we want to finish in second place.
‘If that doesn’t happen it’s not the end of the world — it’s two more games. I don’t see how two more games would drastically affect our chances of promotion.’
Hibs chief executive Leeann Dempster this week offered her backing to Stubbs despite the recent toils, insisting the exCeltic defender ‘is supported and we’re going forward.’
A vote of confidence is not always a reassurance for a manager but Stubbs is more than happy with that alliance, saying: ‘I didn’t even know. It doesn’t surprise me.
‘We’ve got a good relationship and we know which way we want to take the club.’ Stubbs also got a look at the re-laid Hampden pitch and offered words of support for stadium management after so much criticism. ‘To my untrained eye it looks good. ‘It’s not their (Hampden Park Ltd) fault the pitch hasn’t knitted. If anything, I’d applaud them for acting so quickly. Hopefully the pitch rewards them for all their work.’