Only 2 days to go!
The Final Countdown is on for Rachel as she gets ready for Hampden....

IT’S NEARLY HERE! Please forgive my totally childlike excitement but I can’t resist it.  Cup Final Day is now only two days (or sleeps as my pal says) away and I couldn’t be more excited.  I haven’t been to this big a game for Hibs since the 2001 Cup Final and my first Cup Final.  Now every day is a countdown to the big day and it is just so great.  This is the day all Hibbies have been looking forward to ever since Frank de Boer’s penalty didn’t go past Daniel Andersson on that night at Hampden.

The Hibee family is buzzing and the build up is just as good as the day itself.  The only thing that could better it of course is the Cup returning to Leith on Sunday night but I won’t be counting my chickens just yet.  The fact that nearly 40,000 Hibs fans will be going through to Glasgow to watch their team play is a feat in itself with some fans I believe buying tickets in the Livingston end just so that they do not miss the clubs biggest game in a few years.  The ticket office at Easter Road was alive again on Tuesday with more tickets coming in for the Hibs fans.  Some fans even braved the night conditions and slept out to make sure they got their vital briefs! Special well done to those who did that, brave stuff on an Edinburgh night!

Preparation here in Coldstream started from the minute the final whistle blew for the end of the semi final and I am being deadly serious when I say that! We were discussing getting a bus booked straight away.  And that bus is booked and the pre-match ritual organised.  Leaving Coldstream at 10am to head for Hampden to of course avoid the traffic coming into Glasgow for the Celtic vs. Motherwell match at Parkhead on the same day.  On the subject of the Celtic game I will say as many have already that it is a disgrace that this game should be going ahead on this day as Rangers and Hearts already refused to switch their game to the Sunday earlier this year.

Davie Hay and Bobby Williamson with the CIS Cup  (sns)

Well I really can’t say anymore which is strange with a Cup Final coming up and all.  I hope every Hibs fan who attends the game at Hampden has a wonderful day.  But my final words go to the Hibs team – enjoy it boys, try your best and whatever happens the fans will be proud of you.

In other news Bobby Williamson has sent out a plea to the fans who will decorate Hampden in green and white on Sunday to come back to Easter Road.  He has asked some of these fans to consider buying season tickets which go on sale next month.  The manager hopes that the sight of all those fans at Hampden will make new recruits to the club realise what a big club they have joined.

Meanwhile Bobby Williamson also refuses to discount long term injury victims Ian Murray, Stephen Glass and Yannick Zambernardi from his selections for the Final.  But he assures the fans that the people who got the team to the Final are the ones in pole position for selection for Sunday’s big game.

Hibs have confirmed that 19 year old defender Steven Whittaker has signed a new deal which will see him tied to the Easter Road side until 2009!  Whittaker, who joined the club at 16, joins five other youngsters who have put pen to paper in the last few weeks, including Kevin Thomson, Scott Brown and Jonathan Baillie.

Don't forget to tune in to RadioHibs' marathon CIS Cup Special broadcast tonight.  Tonight's spectacular will feature three of the 1991 Skol Cup Winning Squad and the first ever show to be broadcast by a member of the current Hibs squad.  The full schedule is:

With guests from many countries around the world due to join in the fun at the RadioHibs studio, there's bound to be something for everyone to tune into tonight.