Hibs were last in the CIS Cup final in 2004 and turned up expecting to just pack the cup away before a ball was kicked. Livingston were not given a chance and that proved to be the downfall of Hibs as the West Lothian club took the prize home after a deserved 2-0 win. One of the men who plotted their downfall three years ago does not expect the Easter Road side to make the same mistake twice. Former Livingston manager Allan Preston was number two Davie Hay in 2004 when the Almondvale side captured their first trophy at the national stadium. Hibs, who had more than five times the support of Livi at Hampden, fell to two goals in two second-half minutes from Derek Lilley and Jamie McAllister to allow the minority of fans in the ground to shout the place down. Once again the Easter Road fans are expected to make up the majority today for the final against Kilmarnock. But Preston, who lives in Leith, is conscious of a changed attitude among the Edinburgh club's fans.
He said: "It is very unfair just to say that Hibs bottled it on the day against us. They hadn't even scored a goal against us that season, far less taken a point. But there are one or two things that stick in my mind. I met a Hibs-supporting friend in the newsagents the week before and he asked if I thought we had any chance of winning the cup. I said, 'Of course, if I didn't then there would be no point going'. But he seemed genuinely surprised and replied, 'Do you really think you can win it?'. And we had found out before the game that Hibs had booked a film company to make their cup-winning DVD and had made t-shirts commemorating them winning the cup. They had also published their bus route in the local paper, showing where they would parade the cup after the match. We used that to motivate our players. They had shot themselves in the foot by pre-empting the win. But I don't sense the same anticipation this time round. Hibs will take a massive support as they always do on these occasions but they are travelling more in hope than expectation."
However, Preston believes that Hibs fans could be making the trip back along the M8 disappointed again. He said: "This game is difficult to call because it is two evenly-matched clubs and the games between the two sides have been evenly balanced this season. It would be a great achievement for John Collins. Some managers never win a trophy in all their career and John has the chance to become a hero after just four or five months in the job. And Hibs players like Scott Brown are big-game players who have a few more years experience under their belt. But Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown have been there and see it all during their careers. I just think the pace of Steven Naismith could make the difference which is why I think Kilmarnock might just shade it."
It will be down to Hibs captain Rob Jones to stop Naismith making the impact that could turn the game the way of the Rugby Park men. The former Grimsby defender is keen to finish his first season in Scottish football with a cup win. Jones insists bonus payments from the club are an irrelevance ahead of such games, with the focus simply on winning the game. He said: "I think that only one or two of our players have medals - a lot of us have never won anything - so, first and foremost, we are in this final for one reason and one reason only. We are not going in there thinking about earning some money - what price can you put on lifting a cup and getting a winner's medal? You can't because it is priceless. It has been 16 years since Hibs last won a trophy and it would be fantastic if we could bring the cup home to Easter Road, although we know it's going to be difficult because Kilmarnock are a good side."
