(Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
Hibs legend Lewis Stevenson has told his Easter Road teammates that they can’t come away from today’s Premier Sports Cup final against Celtic with any regrets as he told them to go write their names in the Hibees history books.
Stevenson is the only player to have lifted both the Scottish Cup and League Cup as a Hibs player but could be joined by one or two others if the Cabbage can lift the trophy come 5pm tonight.
A young Lewis Stevenson on his way to his first trophy with Hibs (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
“We need to make the most of these occasions,” Stevenson urged. “They don’t come around often and you are only remembered when you win them. We can’t have any regrets on things we could’ve or should’ve done.
“What I have been saying to the boys is that you get remembered forever for winning cups, no matter how long you’ve been at the club.
“Winning cups means everything to players and to the fans. We have been close in the past but it is all about getting your hands on the trophy.”
The League Cup was the first piece of silverware Stevenson lifted as a Hibee, winning man of the match in the 2007 rout of Kilmarnock in the final and the memory of the Hibs fans singing ‘Sunshine on Leith’ is something that still stays with him 14 years on.
With Stevenson having only made a handful of his 522 appearances for Hibs at the time the then-teenage star thought he would sample many more days like that in the years to come and experience the Easter Road faithful serenading the players with the Proclaimers’ classic regularly.
However, that wouldn’t be the case and it would be almost a decade before he would get his hands on a trophy decked in green and white ribbons, and the Fifer confessed he has very different memories of the 2016 Scottish Cup final
“My memories of that day are dwindling to be honest because it was a while ago now. But it was a magnificent occasion and a great day. I still remember the fans signing ‘Sunshine On Leith’ at the end and seeing John Collins getting emotional.
“I probably got a bit blasé, it was my second season at the club and I thought we would win cups every couple of year but realised it doesn’t quite work like that.
“The 2016 final was totally different, I was at a different stage of my career so they are totally different types of memories. Winning cups is the pinnacle of being at Hibs. 2007 was good, 2016 was even better – if we do it again on Sunday I am sure that will be up there too.”
Lewis Stevenson made history when he lifted the Scottish Cup with Hibs (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty)
Stevenson could start at Hampden this afternoon after being named in the starting XI for the previous two games and the veteran tried to rally his teammates, insisting there’s “nothing to lose” at Hampden on Sunday when Hibs go toe-to-toe with Celtic.
“It is nice to be back in. Josh has played a lot of games recently, he missed out on Tuesday because he was ill but I am sure he will be fine for Sunday. I have enjoyed being back in the team but more importantly the team getting back to winnings ways.
“We are obviously playing against a good Celtic team on Sunday but we know that we can cause them problems.
“We have got nothing to lose, we just need to go for it, make the most of it and not have any regrets after the game.”
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