Fenlon - Final must be at Hampden

Fenlon - Final must be at Hampden

Pat Fenlon: Wants final to be played at Hampden

Hibernian boss Pat Fenlon says the Scottish Cup final must be played at Hampden Park, despite the game being an all Edinburgh affair.

With Hibs defeating Aberdeen 2-1 on Saturday in Glasgow, and neighbours Hearts knocking out Celtic by the same scoreline, there had been calls for the tie to be moved to Murrayfield to save the fans from making the 46 mile trip across the M8.

The final has only been played outside of Glasgow once, in 1896, when Hearts defeated Hibs 3-1, the last time there was an all Edinburgh final.

Fenlon however feels it is important that the game is played at the home of Scottish football, rather than being switched to the national rugby stadium.

"Hampden is the home of Scottish football and that is the right place for the game," Fenlon told the Daily Record.

"It's a fantastic occasion to look forward to. It'll be a great occasion for everyone, the city and both clubs.

"There is going to be so much hype around this game and it is important we concentrate on our job in the SPL.

"But, yes, an Edinburgh cup final is going to capture everyone's imagination. We are talking about two big clubs and we've heard enough about Hibs' recent history in the Scottish Cup, so it'll be some occasion for us.

"The Hibs fans would take the prospect of beating anyone in a final. But to have it against Hearts, it'd make it more special."

Having played their semi-final a day before Hearts, Fenlon knew a Celtic victory would have guaranteed his side a place in Europe next season even if they lost the final as the Hoops have already qualified for the UEFA Champions League via t he SPL.

"If Celtic won, we'd have been in Europe and that would have been great. On the other hand, we wanted the occasion of playing Hearts," he added.

"So we still have the chance to get into Europe under our own steam."