I grew up with the romance of the cup ...it was always my dream to lift that trophy
AS a football-mad youngster, Jack Ross developed an early fixation with the Scottish Cup. In the early 1980s, Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering Aberdeen team seemed to win the old trophy every year.
And, for the current manager of Hibernian, that threw up one of life’s great questions.
If he ever achieved his dream of lifting the Scottish Cup, how would he do it?
‘I remember Willie Miller lifting the trophy one-handed,’ grins Ross. ‘That was always the thing for me, wondering if I would be able to lift it one-handed if I won it because I was never sure how heavy it was — or how strong he was to be able to do that.
‘It’s a daft memory but, for me, it was something that stood out amongst it.
‘I was born in ’76, so there were a lot of games where Willie was lifting the trophy.
‘I also remember Ian Ferguson’s winner in ’87 (when St Mirren beat Dundee United), Celtic’s Double win (in 1988) with late goals against United, and all those games, because I think people of my age and my generation will recognise that cup final day was a massive day.
‘It was a huge, huge day and, even if you didn’t support any of the teams in the final, there was always huge interest for me.
‘I grew up with that romance of the Scottish Cup and, for me, it was always a dream to go and lift it.
‘As a player, I didn’t get to do that, so it is still as big a deal for me as it has always been.’
By his own admission, Ross has never even touched the old trophy never mind lifted it.
The closest he came as a player was a one-sided semi-final defeat to Rangers at Hampden in his days with St Mirren in 2009.
‘Andrius Velicka scored after about 20 seconds, which wasn’t a great start! And we went on to lose the game 3-0,’ he adds.
‘Listen, I’d love to get the opportunity in a couple of weeks time to see if I could do it one-handed…’
Where the cup is concerned, Hibs removed the monkey from their backs in 2016 when they won the trophy for the first time in 114 years.
One of the most remarkable finals in decades, David Gray’s winner against Rangers seems certain to feature on BBC Scotland re-runs of Scottish Cup classics in the fullness of time. With no Celtic or Rangers to fret over in this year’s final four, the current Hibs boss wants his players to write their own chapter in tournament folklore.
First of all, they have to take care of Dundee United in tomorrow’s semi-final.
Ross declares: ‘I would like to take credit for this, but there’s a quote from an athlete, I can’t remember which sport it is. It says: “Jerseys and medals eventually gather dust, but memories get better with age”. I think that’s a brilliant way to look upon it when you’re trying to emphasise how big a deal it is to go and achieve success.
‘Those memories you create, you look back on, and when you get together with people and look back at old matches and talk about them, they do get better.
‘I have enjoyed those old games that have been getting replayed on the BBC and I am sure the people involved in them, particularly those who were successful in them, have enjoyed them immensely.’
When Hibs lifted the trophy five years ago, it seemed as if their Hampden hoodoo had finally come to an end. There’s an old saying that one swallow doesn’t make a summer, however. And, for the Easter Road side, trips to Scotland’s national stadium have thrown up a series of gut-wrenching outcomes over the years. The identity of the opponents might change, but the ending rarely does.
There have been two cup final defeats to Celtic, three semi-final losses to Hearts — the most recent last October — an awful loss to Livingston in the 2004 League Cup semi-final, a capitulation against Dunfermline in 2007, more grim days against
“I remember Willie Miller lifting it one-handed...that was always a thing for me, wondering if I could lift it with one hand”
Falkirk, Ross County and United, and a 3-0 loss to St Johnstone in the last four of this season’s Betfred Cup in January.
Keen to bring an end to the litany of woe and build on their current position in the Premiership, where they are still in the driving seat to beat Aberdeen to third place, Ross adds: ‘It feels that we have been saying this for a long time, but this is the biggest week of the season and the biggest games of the season.
‘It tallies with where we want to be, mentality wise as well. It has been a pretty consistent and repetitive message as the season has developed.
‘It is as clear as anything that this is a huge period for us in terms of turning a very good season into one that is historic and memorable.
‘Everybody at the club is aware of that and I don’t think it increases the pressure on us because we have put pressure on ourselves all season to achieve and we have welcomed that pressure. Now it’s a case of finishing the job. ‘We have three, hopefully four, games left, which is not a lot in the context of a whole season, but we can go and do something historic.’