THE look of disdain on Jason Holt's face said it all. It has just been suggested that even the Rangers midfielder, an Edinburgh boy who was part of Paulo Sergio's extended squad for the humiliating 5-1 2012 Scottish Cup final victory, must feel a little bit sorry for the predicament his one-time capital rivals could find themselves in.
Chasing three titles in January, they now have just one strike left, in Saturday's William Hill Scottish Cup final. It arrives in a cup competition in which they haven't prevailed for 114 years, against a Rangers team equally desperate to lift their first piece of proper national silverware since their messy rebirth in the Scottish lower divisions. And judging by Holt's reaction, he plans to extend them about as much sympathy as your typical parking enforcement officer when you return to your car ten minutes after your ticket has expired.
"I don't think there is room for sentiment," said Holt. "I have a couple of friends who are Hibs fans ... while they, the [Hearts] supporters, probably will be [desperate to keep Hibs 114-year wait for a Scottish cup victory going] but as players you don’t try to get involved in that stuff. My full concentration is on the game and what I'll be involved in on Saturday. It's a cup final, a massive occasion, but my focus is on Rangers and what we need to do.”
While a third successive year in the Championship would still be something of a downer, a century and more of cup frustration would dissipate in an instant for the Easter Road club if the result went their way on Saturday. Seated in the stands for the 90 minutes back in 2012, Holt did his fair share of celebrating on the day Hibs hit rock bottom. But he would dearly love to make a more authentic contribution to this year's final. And if it prolongs Hibs' misery then so be it.
"The cup memory that springs to mind is that 5-1 win over Hibs when I was at Hearts," said Holt. "I wasn't involved in the game itself but luckily I was able to travel with the squad and enjoy the celebrations afterwards. That was a great day - I didn't really consider myself a first-team player back then so just to be involved in all of that was brilliant.
"I'd made my breakthrough that season and I had been training a lot with the first team," Holt added. "I got one or two games and it was an incredible experience just to be a part of it all. I was suited and booted and out on the pitch with the cup at the final whistle. The following day we had the open top bus tour of Edinburgh which again was an amazing experience and something I will always look back on.
"Going round the city the next day was incredible. It really whetted my appetite for more success. It's like everyone says, once you've had a taste of it you want it all the time. I'm no different in that regard."
It might not be a grudge match of Hearts-Hibs proportions, but there is a rivalry of sorts between Rangers and Hibs. Saturday will be the sixth meeting between the clubs this season, with the scoreline currently standing 3-2 in the Ibrox side's favour. “We have played them quite a few times but we can’t treat it any differently," said Holt. "I think they are going to be itching to go out on Saturday and win the game, win the cup, for the fans. We’re no different. Obviously the Petrofac final and the Celtic game gave us a little experience of what happens at Hampden around a game but Hibs have been to Hampden a couple of times this season so they will be well-equipped but we just focus on ourselves.”
While Holt and Rangers still have this season to get out the way, it is only understandable if minds are ticking forward to the 2016-17 season. With three new arrivals already in the bag, all of them capable of playing in midfield, in the form of Jordan Rossiter, Matt Crooks and Josh Windass, and another two big-name signings on the radar in the form of Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar, Holt would have to be among those most at risk of losing his first team spot for the season ahead. That would seem a harsh fate for a player who has scored 12 goals from midfield this season and often produced his best play on the biggest occasions. He has three goals against Hibernian this season, including two in the pivotal 4-2 victory around Christmas time, while his energetic display in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic was exemplary. “Stuff like that is outwith the players’ control to be fair," said Holt. "There’s not much we can do so we just need to wait and see.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel