Scottish Cup: Scott Brown wants more Hibs misery

Brown admits he would love to see Hibs end one of the most infamous hoodoos in sport–- but just not this year. The Celtic captain is determined to inflict a 111th consecutive year of Scottish Cup misery upon the Easter Road men and condemn them to a fresh round of taunts from their city rivals.

“Hopefully it will be another year of the Hearts fans giving it tight to the Hibs support,” said Brown. “If they were playing anyone else but us on Sunday, I would want them to win the cup. Of course I would. I hope they win it eventually, but not this season.

“I was at the final last year, I came to support them. I stayed for the whole game too. I really felt for them when it finished 5-1. The Scottish Cup thing seems to have gone on forever for Hibs with the Hearts fans giving them what for about it.

“I felt it myself when I was at Hibs. We fell down every season in the Scottish Cup. We would seem to be on a good run, then when it came to the quarter-final or semi-final we would miss out.”

If Sunday appears to be loaded with greater significance for Hibs, Brown has no doubts that it is also crucial for Celtic to complete the domestic double on the back of their second successive SPL title win.

He agrees with team-mate Anthony Stokes, who claimed that failure to win the Scottish Cup would prevent Celtic from turning a good season into a great one.

“It would take the gloss off our season if we lost on Sunday,” said Brown. “No-one likes to go to Hampden and lose. We need to pretty much win every game for the Celtic fans to be happy. So it is a huge game for ourselves as well as Hibs. For us to end up with the double would show just how good our season has really been.

“Hibs sold out their tickets for the final as quickly as ours. It is a great occasion for both sets of fans. It’s huge for us as a team and we need to try and take control from the first minute.”

Celtic’s record at Hampden in recent seasons has been patchy, with unexpected losses to Ross County, Kilmarnock, Hearts and St Mirren. But as Brown posed for photographs at the stadium yesterday, he was gratified to note the improved condition of the playing surface which he hopes will lend itself to an optimum performance by the Scottish champions.

“It’s got grass on it – I’m surprised,” he said. “It actually looks like a nice national stadium this time, instead of fit for a rugby match. It looks lovely. It’s good that they have managed to get it looking nice for the final, especially when it’s going to be on television all across the UK. You don’t want to see a pitch at your National Stadium which has been dug up halfway through a season. Hopefully we get a nice day for the final.

“I don’t know why our record at Hampden isn’t as good as we would have liked. It’s whether we turn up on the day or not. We went in against St Mirren in the League Cup semi-final this season and it was a hard game on a pitch which was not the best. We didn’t take our chances and lost 3-2 on the day. I think we have learned lessons from that.”

Brown is relishing the prospect of a midfield joust with his close friend and former Hibs team-mate Kevin Thomson, who returned to the Easter Road club in a bid to revive his career following his release by Middlesbrough earlier this year.

“What he has done, coming back to Hibs and playing for nothing, shows you he just wants to get out there and play football,” said Brown. “He has gone back to the team he supported as a kid and you can see the faith he has put in the manager and also the faith the manager has in him. He needs to get himself back in the shop window really. This could be his last game for Hibs. Who knows what’s going to happen. Hopefully he gets a good move out of it. In the games I’ve seen, he has played really well.”

Another player who has captured Brown’s attention is young midfielder Alex Harris. While Leigh Griffiths has hogged the headlines for Hibs this season, Brown believes Harris represents a significant danger to Celtic on Sunday.

“He is very skilful,” added Brown. “He drops a shoulder and half of the crowd seem to go the wrong way as well. He is a good prospect for Hibs. Bringing through young players again is important, they always need to do that.

“They always show faith in their young players, they give them a chance. It’s a good club. I think he has made the breakthrough already. He is one of the first names on their teamsheet. He is talented. He runs at you and puts people under pressure. He has scored a handful of goals, good goals as well. He is going to be one to watch.”

Brown’s return to the Celtic side after a three-month injury lay-off has coincided with their return to form in the shape of back-to-back 4-0 SPL wins against St Johnstone and Dundee United. He says he has yet to regain full match fitness but is ready to lead his side in pursuit of Celtic’s first domestic double since 2007.

“I still wouldn’t say I’m 100 per cent because that is not going to come from just two games and two weeks of training sessions,” he said. “I’m still a little bit off it, but I feel quite good and I’ll give it everything to lift the trophy.”