Fenlon plots Hibs' escape to victory

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Pat Fenlon took his Hibernian squad to Dublin to escape the mayhem of the Scottish Cup final build-up – only for supporters of the club turn up to watch their opening training session yesterday.

Pat Fenlon has settled on his starting XI for the final

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The Irishman, who revealed he has already settled on his final line-up, was made well aware at his unveiling last November of the Easter Road side's Scottish Cup hoodoo stretching back 110 years but has been eager to play down the historic meeting with rivals Hearts as his team have battled against relegation. However, with their Clydesdale Bank Premier League safety finally secured, the former Bohemians and Shelbourne manager is having to work hard to cocoon his players from the full impact of the first all-Edinburgh final since 1896.

He said: "We know the team. The bench is probably where we've got one or two decisions. There's a lot of players and there's only five subs' places, so it's going to be a difficult decision for me. But you don't pick it on sentiment, you pick it on what you think is the best group of substitutes that can change the game for you or can cover you in certain areas."Maybe in the next day or two's training we'll see someone who gives us an advantage that's not there at the moment. But we're fairly close to what we want."Relaxation and hard work will be the watch words for the men in green and white in the coming days, and Fenlon is determined to ensure his team enjoy more peaceful preparations on the Emerald Isle before heading back to the capital on Wednesday.He said: "It is a special occasion for us and we wanted to treat it as such, but there is so much going on around the game – even last week trying to prepare for the Inverness game was crazy as the training centre was like a train station with the amount of traffic. I just thought it would be too manic to be there."The players have worked hard to get to the final and to make sure we stayed in the SPL, so it's nice for them to get a chance to get our training done as well as having time to relax. But, even this morning at training, there were a few Hibs fans who turned up that are Irish-based."The boys know the importance and what people think, so it's good to get away from it. I've not got loads lined up, it's more about getting the work done and rest and relax as opposed to filling their days with loads of stuff. They may never get another chance to play in a Scottish Cup final, so the build-up is as important. But I have to admit, it will be a dream come true to lead the team out at Hampden."As the Easter Road faithful ponder the prospect of Hampden glory, Scott Brown yesterday revealed he will be joining the legions from Leith at the national stadium. He may have missed out on a domestic double as a player this season, but Brown is hoping that he'll be toasting a league and cup success of sorts when the final whistle blows on Saturday.Brown, the Celtic captain and former Hibs player, obviously would have preferred to be in the final himself, but admitted with a smile "at least there's another green and white team in it." During his time in the capital, Brown savoured some silverware as he helped drive Hibs to a 5-1 thumping of Kilmarnock in the 2007 League Cup final."It's going to be a great atmosphere but here's hoping the Hibees win," said Brown. "When I was at Hibs we had done well in the League Cup, but it was still the Scottish Cup that everybody wanted. I remember we got the open top bus down Princes Street and Leith Walk and it was frightening the amount of people who turned up. Could you imagine how many would be out after 110 years?"You need ability, nerve and emotion to win a cup final, but I'd love to see Hibs do it and I'll be there cheering them on."

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Fenlon plots Hibs' escape to victory

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