HIBERNIAN will be without their captain, James McPake, for tomorrow's William Hill Scottish Cup final against Celtic after the defender was ruled out with a back injury.
McPake returned to training this week after missing Hibs' last three matches and had been confident of being declared fit but his manager, Pat Fenlon, revealed yesterday that the 28-year-old, who scored in last season's 5-1 final defeat by Hearts, will miss out.
"It's a blow as James has been a big player for us," Fenlon said. "He's a good leader on the pitch as well. It's more of a blow for him to be honest. When a player misses out on a cup final it's difficult but he's aware that he needs to be 100% right going into the game and he doesn't feel that. It's not the kind of injury where he could take an injection to get him through. James doesn't want to let people down so we had to make that decision."
Should Hibs triumph tomorrow, Fenlon hopes McPake would be able join the captain on the day to lift the trophy. "That would be great," he said. "It would be fantastic if we're in that position. It would be different class."
Neil Lennon, the Celtic manager, meanwhile, responded to criticism of Kris Commons by the Scottish Football Association's performance director Mark Wotte, saying the midfielder will not care what the Dutchman thinks about him. Wotte questioned Commons' desire, pride and ambition after the 29-year-old announced his international retirement for family reasons. Lennon said Commons, who is likely to start tomorrow's final, would have taken the remarks on board if he or the Scotland manager Gordon Strachan had made them, but not Wotte.
Lennon said he attempted to talk Commons out of the decision, even though it will benefit Celtic if the player is not away on Scotland duty.
When it was put to him that Commons' desire had been questioned, Lennon said: "Who by? Mark Wotte? Three or four years ago Kris Commons was playing in League One. Five months ago he scored the winner to put us into the last 16 of the Champions League.
"I don't see where that question of desire or ambition comes from. He's at a big club, he's made his way through the game, he's had to be patient and he's benefiting from all his hard work. If you look at his body shape he's in prime condition and at this stage of his career he's in the best shape of his life.
"I haven't spoken to him about this [but] I'm sure Kris hasn't batted an eyelid at Mark's comments. Gordon's reaction was disappointment, naturally, but he said he's left the door open for Kris to come back.
"That's a positive thing and maybe in time, seeing how he's feeling, he may change his mind. With Kris having a new baby it can be challenging for him and his family. I'm sure it's been a difficult decision for him to make and maybe in time he'll rethink."
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