Final appearance can enhance Jefferies' high standing

Taking Kilmarnock to Hampden in the League Cup would be a major achievement, writes Jim Black

Sunday January 28, 2007
The Observer

Celtic and Rangers have, between them, won the Scottish League Cup a staggering 37 times. However, the competition has been spared the monotony of yet another triumphal procession by one or other of the Old Firm, for this season at least.

The sponsor, CIS Insurance, may not share the view that a national cup competition minus the country's two foremost clubs is necessarily good for business. Instead, they have had to make do with Kilmarnock, Falkirk, Hibernian and St Johnstone, of the First Division, as their semi-finalists. But for non-Old Firm followers the prospect of Kilmarnock and Falkirk facing off at Fir Park on Tuesday evening, followed by Hibs and St Johnstone at Tynecastle 24 hours later has a certain romantic appeal.

Hibs contested a final as recently as 2004, when they were somewhat surprisingly beaten by Livingston. Kilmarnock, meanwhile, fell at the final hurdle when they faced Celtic three years earlier.

St Johnstone, in spite of their lower-league status, were finalists nine years ago, losing 2-1 to Rangers. Falkirk, on the other hand, have not even reached the last four since 1974, when they lost to Hibs.

The odds being offered by the bookmakers about Hibs reflect the widely held view of those residing outside Perth that John Collins' team will justify their standing as hot favourites after accounting for city rivals Hearts in the previous round. For all that they caused a stir when beating Rangers in their own backyard at the same stage, St Johnstone would once again have to overachieve to an unrealistic level.

The other semi-final tie is much more difficult to call, even if some Falkirk fans have expressed concern that Kilmarnock hold the Indian sign over them in more recent times, a belief that further manifested itself when The Bairns were beaten by their Ayrshire rivals in the 1997 Scottish Cup final. However, there are others, of course, who will point to Falkirk having done likewise to Kilmarnock 40 years earlier, when they unexpectedly won the Scottish Cup in a replay.

Not that Jim Jefferies, the Kilmarnock manager, is a great believer in past records, or bookmakers' odds. He did, after all, mastermind Hearts' 1998 Scottish Cup final triumph over Rangers, forcing the layers to pay out at prices as generous as 5-1.

Jefferies, mindful of his team's recent Scottish Cup humiliation by Second Division leaders Morton, struck a realistic chord when he said: 'Nothing that has gone before will influence the outcome of this match. Matches are won depending on how you play on the day, and we will need to raise our game above the level of some of our recent performances, which, frankly, have been unacceptable.

'I think some players began believing in their own publicity and imagined that things were just going to happen,' Jefferies added, 'but the Morton result was a wake-up call, and if it is not heeded we are going to undo so much of the good work we have put in over the past couple of years.'

Kilmarnock's progress under Jefferies has been quite remarkable, given the financial constraints placed on the manager as a consequence of the club's massive debt, believed to amount to several million pounds. Jefferies is held in such high esteem that his name figured prominently among those being touted to succeed Walter Smith as the Scotland coach. In the event, the Scottish Football Association is expected to confirm Alex McLeish in the role within the next 48 hours.

Garry Hay, the Kilmarnock captain and sole survivor from the 2001 team beaten 3-0 by a Henrik Larsson-inspired Celtic, reflected: 'Was it a great day? I don't suppose it could have been because we lost and Kilmarnock don't have the opportunity to play in many cup finals.'

'Ayrshire Cup finals against Ayr United for the Westsound Trophy are not quite the same as appearing at Hampden,' Hay said. 'But we are not there yet and we won't be unless we raise our game. Falkirk play some of the best football in the Premier League, so we will have our work cut out.'

Falkirk, who put out the holders, Celtic, by dint of displaying greater nerve in a penalty kick shoot-out, can claim to be the most improved side in the SPL, due largely to the efforts of their enthusiastic young manager, John Hughes.

Hughes has not endeared himself to his playing staff by preaching a creed based on fitness allied to hard work. Indeed, a disciple of the late Jock Stein, Hughes may be viewed by some as being a slave driver, judging by the comments of his captain, Jack Ross.

'I am 30 and I have never worked harder in my life,' said Ross. 'We moan about it at times but we appreciate that it is for our own good. This would have been a good season for us if it ended tomorrow, but it can be a great one.'

Taken from the Guardian/Observer