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Hibs cup heroes miss civic celebration goal

CUP-WINNING Hibs players won’t enjoy the same civic celebrations as city rivals Hearts after the club and the council failed to agree on a date.

The Lord Provost’s office offered selected dates to mark Hibs’ emphatic 5-1 League Cup victory over Kilmarnock in March, but they did not fit in with the club’s plans.

Now club officials have said that, with the new season weeks away, it is “time to move on”.

When Hearts beat Gretna in the Scottish Cup Final two seasons ago the Lord Provost led tributes to the Gorgie side at a civic reception at the City Chambers.

A smaller-scale celebration was held at the City Chambers following Hibs’ cup triumph in March, but plans for a formal reception hit the buffers due to the club’s Scottish Cup semi-final preparations and international call-ups involving a number of Hibs players.

A spokesman for Hibs said it was neither the club nor the council’s fault that the ceremony couldn’t go ahead.

He said: “The council tried to arrange something but unfortunately diaries couldn’t accommodate it at that time.

“They made an offer to us but our commitments made it impossible. It wasn’t anybody’s fault.

“We think that it is done and dusted as we’re now moving into a new season and we want to look ahead, not back to last year. The council was keen to arrange something and we do appreciate that, but it is time to move on.”

The office of new Lord Provost George Grubb wrote to the club last week to ask if it would restart discussions about arranging a date and said the club has yet to officially respond.

A city council spokesman said: “The council recognised Hibs’ excellent achievement at the ceremony held immediately after the cup final win. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to arrange a further celebration to date because of player commitments. However, we have written to Hibs inviting them to discuss the possibility of a civic reception.”

Frank Dougan, treasurer of the Hibernian Supporters Association, said: “It’s a shame it has taken so long for the council to come back to the club. It should have been done at the end of last season. Hibs are right to take the stance they have done. They might not say it publicly, but I think they’ll be disappointed that nothing was offered to them sooner.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s Hibs or Hearts, a team that wins the cup should be honoured with a full civic reception because they have brought the spotlight on Edinburgh.”

Nevertheless, a Hibs team may yet grace the chambers with its presence after the city’s new sport leader, Councillor Deirdre Brock, put forward a motion asking for Hibs Ladies - who won their league and Scottish Cup double, winning all 22 of their league games in the process - to be invited to a civic ceremony. Hibs have now won both competitions three times in the past five seasons.

Paul Johnston, who manages the ladies side alongside brother Ian, said: “It is fantastic that the council is making the effort to recognise the work we have done over the last four or five years.”