With Rangers having secured their aims this year and won the Championship title to return to the Premiership, having already lifted the Petrofac Trophy, the Scottish Cup Final against Hibernian excites manager Mark Warburton for a number of reasons.
Speaking to the Official Site in his pre game press conference, Warburton knows lifting that trophy would make it a ‘great’ season for the club – especially with the potential European return it would also provide us with.
‘It would be a fantastic achievement. It`s a Scottish Cup final, there`s a European place at stake. For us it will be a great end to what has been a good season. The target was obviously the league. The Petrofac Cup was a bonus and beating Dundee and then Celtic here at Hampden in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup was an even bigger bonus. But now we have to focus on finishing on a high and getting a result.’
Speaking ahead of the game as he was, Warburton said he had decided what his starting eleven would be, and the players would learn of it shortly.
‘Do I know my team? I do. We`ve got 16 players in the squad. We lose Dom Ball through suspension, which is a great shame as he`s had an outstanding season, but Martyn Waghorn comes in. He`s fit and well and ready to start. The players don`t know the team yet but they will do tomorrow. They all have a part to play. It will be a packed out National Stadium and we`ve got a big responsibility to the fans coming here to give us their support.’
With the opposition, Hibernian, coming into the game having missed out on promotion via the Play Off route again this season, Warburton wasn’t going to be drawn on their state of mind and whether or not that would make it easier for us, or harder because they would come out with a point to prove.
For him it was about Rangers focusing on their performance and doing what we do well, as if we do that, the Cup is ours.
‘We played each other just the five or six times so we know Hibs and Hibs know us. Our job is to go out there and do what we do well. It`s as simple as that. If we do, we`ll get the result we want.’
