Hibernian may hold a tactical advantage in Scottish Cup final, says Neil McCann
Saturday 21 May 2016 14:54, UK
Neil McCann is backing Rangers to prolong Hibernian's Scottish Cup misery this weekend - even though he believes Alan Stubbs has a tactical ace up his sleeve.
The clubs have met five times this season - with Rangers holding a 3-2 aggregate advantage - but Hibs have the positive memory of their most recent encounter, a 3-2 league win at Easter Road last month.
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They have fallen out of the Premiership play-off picture in the interim but McCann is expecting another gripping encounter at the national stadium.
He told Sky Sports News HQ: "How much of a hangover there will be for Hibs after the defeat against Falkirk remains to be seen, but this game stands alone. If you are a player, you can't help but look forward to it.
"Rangers' form has dipped since they won the league and maybe the players were protecting themselves a little bit and Mark Warburton will not be too downcast as long as they deliver on the day.
"The only thing that would concern me from a Rangers point of view is how they performed against Hibs last time out. Alan Stubbs played three at the back and to be honest Rangers did not have much of an answer.
"That could hand Hibs an advantage as Stubbs knows he has beaten Rangers playing 4-4-3 and 5-3-2 so he has got options if he feels he needs to change things during the game.
"It will be an intriguing game. Hibs will be tight they won't be too open. Rangers have not won it since 2009 and they will have a big incentive too with a possible place in the Europa League qualifiers and I think they might just shade it."
