It would be nice to see more fans
With Hampden set to be over half full of Hibees, Caldwell looks for a fuller Easter Road...

WITH SATURDAY BEING THE LAST HOME GAME BEFORE THE CIS CUP FINAL, it was though that there would be a bumper crowd on hand to cheer Hibs on in an effort to lift them out of their league 'slump'.  In the end, a crowd of just over 10,400 witnessed Hibs concede an early goal before failing to find a way past the Dons defence, a fact that's worrying not just the fans but the players too as Gary Caldwell alluded to after the match.  With tackles being shirked that would normally have been entered into, there could be an element of 'future game-watching' going on but the former Newcastle United defender had other thoughts on it.

“I don’t think it was a case of us having one eye on the Cup Final. We have been struggling lately to score goals and I think that is what showed itself again on Saturday. I really don’t think anyone out there was thinking about the final, if they were then that would be disappointing but I don’t think that was the case."  Not down to having minds elsewhere then but what did cause yet another downfall for the Easter Road side?  "I think we had most of the possession on Saturday but then I did not think that we did enough to win the game. Perhaps a point would have been fair, but we just seemed to struggle to break them down and they did defend well after they had scored – it was a frustrating afternoon.”    The truth of the matter though is that despite the possession, after going a goal down, they rarely threatened to do anything to drag themselves out of another pending defeat.

Kevin Thomson and Colin Murdock calm things down after Caldwell's late challenge  (sns)

Bobby Williamson now faces the arduous task of preparing the team for the game against Livingston and, after Saturday there maybe a temptation to change one or two players about with those that didn't start.  If changes are made, then so be it says Caldwell.  “It’s down to the manager who plays in the final of course, I think that everyone went out on Saturday and gave it everything they had. Our passing at times was just not good enough in the final third and we did not perhaps deserve to score in the end so it is now down to the manager if he wants to make changes for the final, it’s not our decision."  Against Rangers and Celtic, it was the passing game that helped Hibs to take on, and ultimately conquer, the Old Firm sides with Riordan in particular causing havoc out wide in the Semi Final.  There will be no point whatsoever in Hibs playing the long high ball against the likes of Marvin Andrews but to get the passing mentality back into the minds of the side, there is no doubt what will be required.

“We now have to work hard, I think the two week gap before the final is good for us. We have been struggling so now we have a long time to work on the things that we have not been doing right, and hopefully we will get it right for the final because it is a massive game for the club."  Caldwell continued, "It is obviously an exciting time, there are clubs who have not been involved in a cup final for a long time. But we have had league games to deal with before this final and it has been a bit frustrating to not pick up as many points as I think we should have. We have all been concentrating on that but now we have two weeks to focus and work hard on the final.”

One type of incident that always sees the Hibs fans getting behind their team is a melee in the middle of the park, and Saturday was no exception.  Caldwell was perhaps a little fortunate to see only a yellow card being produced from referee Iain Brines' pocket in the final minutes although he insisted that there was no malice intended in his challenge.  “I went for the ball, I have never went into a tackle to hurt anyone – I did not think that I was high although I was late and deserved a booking.  I have never gone in to hurt anyone and obviously Steve Tosh reacting angrily after I caught him but it was nothing malicious or such, I went 100% for the ball. I apologised to him for that as any professional would and everything was fine at the end, there was no problem.”

With a record number of Hibs fans organised for the trip through to Glasgow on the 14th, there have been the usual shouts regarding the so called 'glory hunters'.  Caldwell though isn't surprised by the high turnout.  “This is a very big club right up there with the biggest in Scotland and that is shown by the number of fans we are taking to the final. It is obviously a big day for them and for us as well of course."  With preparations now set to get under way in earnest at the club, Caldwell looked back, and forward, to the turnouts at Easter Road for the bread and butter business of the League campaign.  “We want to make sure that we get everything right and get the right result on the day. It is a wee bit disappointing that all our fans don’t show out for league games but that is the same at any club, even Manchester United or even Celtic when the went to Seville. There is a bigger fan-base goes there than goes every week to Parkhead, so it is the same at any club when a big game comes all their supporters come out which is fine. It would be nice to see more fans here week in and week out though!”