Hibs have another trip to the National stadium to contemplate today and manager John Collins has been focusing on relaxing his squad ahead of the trip along the M8. The tension in the Easter Road dressing room has been well documented with some players meeting chairman Rod Petrie to raise concerns over Collins methods. Full details of these discussions have never come to light but Collins and his players are eager to concentrate on today's Hampden clash with Dunfermline. Collins said: "It doesn't get any bigger or better. This is what we look forward to, this is what you dream of, another trip to Hampden, another massive game, a big test for us." Semi-finals can be even more nerve wracking than appearances in a final so Collins and assistant manager Tommy Craig are sticking to the preparations that served them well before last month's 5-1 CIS Cup final win over Kilmarnock. Collins said: "Regularly they are tense affairs, usually tight, anxious. My job and Tommy's job is to make sure the players are focused, calm, relaxed, have lots of self-belief, and go on the park believing they are going to win and put on a show, like the last time. We were there three weeks ago, so we have got great recent memories of being there, they know the stadium, they know the pitch. They have a great feel for it."
Hibs face Stephen Kenny's side eight days after a 1-0 defeat against the Fifers that kicked off the dressing-room revolt. Collins said: "It will be tough, Dunfermline are well organised, the manager has done a terrific job in a short period of time. The players know what they are up against. Revenge is not a word I use, it's a chance to put a good performance in and get a victory. It's always painful getting beaten but revenge isn't the word."
Hibs skipper Rob Jones also stressed his focus was on the game as a chance to reach a cup final rather than put right a poor performance and its aftermath. The Englishman said: "Revenge is probably too strong a word, yes we were beaten by them, we all know we didn't play very well but we have got to give them a lot of credit. They got in about us and stopped us playing but hopefully Sunday will be different. We won't take them lightly as we didn't on Saturday, it just didn't turn out to be our day. What's fresh in our minds is that it's a semi-final of the cup, the biggest cup in the country. The prize in the end could be Europe, that's what is fresh in our minds." | 