CONRAD LOGAN, the unlikely hero of Hibernian’s penalty shoot-out win over Dundee United in the semi-final of the William Hill Scottish Cup, has been dropped from the side for tonight’s Ladbrokes Championship visit of Rangers.
The Irishman achieved cult hero status over the weekend when helping his side set up a final date with the Ibrox club at Hampden Park on May 21, but his manager, Alan Stubbs, insists there will be no room for emotion when it comes to team selection.
Logan saved twice in the penalty shoot-out in what was his first game in 16 months because of injury and attracted plenty of attention because of his portly physique, but he will make way for Mark Oxley, who is now free of suspension, with Stubbs unconcerned by the reaction of supporters.
"That's why I am the manager,” he said. “That's why at the weekend it was my decision to play Conrad and not Otso Virtanen and, so, I got that one right.
"It was a straightforward decision (with Oxley).
“Conrad has done really well. He's put in a man-of-the-match performance, something he will remember forever.
"What he has done is lift the competition for places a considerable degree. That's all you can do. He has come in and performed excellently, providing competition for that place. He's certainly chomping at Mark’s heels."
Marvin Bartley, meanwhile, has revealed he had no idea Hibernian would be facing Rangers in the Scottish Cup final. As the drama of another penalty shoot-out in the Old Firm derby played out, he has revealed he was finding his entertainment elsewhere.
“I watched the ‘Antiques Roadshow’,” he said. “That's where I was at in my life.
"The lads have hammered me. I didn't even watch the game and then I went into the (online) group-chat and the lads said: 'We've got Rangers'.
"I thought: 'Oh' - and then I put Football Manager on and off I went. It is what it is.
"My mum used to force me to watch Antiques Roadshow, but now I'm sitting at home at 29 wondering what I'm doing with my life because I'm putting it on myself!”
Bartley insists he is also more focused at the moment on catching second-placed Falkirk in the league.
"Every game's massive between now and the end of the season and you obviously have to fit the cup final into that as well,” he said. "If we finish third, we have more games than if we finish second, so we have to deal with it as it comes, really.
"We need to win this game. Nothing else is good enough."
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