Pat Stanton warns Hearts their derby dominance can end in the cup

All-time Hibernian great Pat Stanton has warned Hearts that form in football can change when you least expect it ahead of the all-Edinburgh Scottish Cup final.

Stanton, 67, played in one of the finest Hibs teams ever during the 60s and 70s but never got his hands on the elusive Scottish Cup.

Now the present-day team, which only escaped relegation in the penultimate match of the SPL campaign, stands on the brink of ending 110 years of heartache, and Stanton admits that it proves how unpredictable football can be.

He said: “You’d have to say Hearts are the favourites going by recent results going back a fair bit, but these things can change and they maybe change when you least expect it.

“It’s a great thing for the city, great for the Hearts and Hibs supporters and a great day out for them.”

Stanton lorded it over Hearts as a player, winning 15 times in derbies in 28 games and tasting defeat just five times, and he loves the rivalry between the two clubs.

Stanton cannot believe it has taken since 1896 to get them back in a Scottish Cup final together.

The former Easter Road captain said: “It’s been such a long time, both Hibs winning the cup and playing Hearts in a cup final. It means a lot to the Hearts and it means a lot to the Hibs.

“The rivalry is still there, you need the rivalry. They need one another – if it was only Hearts in this city then they would have nothing to talk about.

“If the result goes against you, well it goes against you, but if the people go there and enjoy it and the players give it their best, that’s all you can ask.”

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