Paul Hanlon warns Hibs about "potential banana skin" against Stranraer

| 17 April 2021

Hibernian travel to Stair Park this weekend looking to make the last eight of the Scottish Cup.

Paul Hanlon admits Hibernian's Hampden nous will count for nothing as they bid to avoid a Stair Park slip-up against Stranraer.

Hanlon is a Easter Road hero having helped take the Scottish Cup back to Leith in 2016.

And Jack Ross' current side have plenty of recent experience of playing at the National Stadium having reached the last four of both last season's competition and this term's Betfred Cup.

They will hope to take another step towards a return to Mount Florida on Sunday when they travel south to take on Stranraer in the last 16.

But Hanlon has warned his team-mates to beware the threat of a banana skin.

He said: "You'd like to think that experience will help but everyone knows what can happen in cup football.

"You have to prepare properly and be as professional as you can and that's what we'll do this weekend.

"Yeah we've got experience of going to Hampden but that doesn't prepare us for going to Stranraer away.

"I've never been before and it's a fair journey away. There's a potential banana skin there for us.

"They are a team in form, scoring a lot of goals so that makes it very dangerous. We can't take them lightly and we won't."

That 2016 triumph over Rangers sparked wild scenes of jubilation round Edinburgh as Hibs ended their 114-year cup hoodoo.

But their last two visits to Hampden have produced only despair, with Hearts claiming victory in last year's delayed Scottish Cup semi before St Johnstone produced a shock 3-0 win in the last four of this season's Betfred Cup.

But that pain has not put Hanlon off going in search of fresh glory.

He said: "Obviously there has been disappointments throughout the season.

"But they come every season. You're not going to go through it all plain sailing.

"The majority of this campaign has been positive for us and we just see this as another opportunity to take a step further.

"The disappointments have been so big because they've been in the final stages of major tournaments. That's what makes them so heartbreaking and difficult to get over.

"But on the flip side we're getting to these situations time and time again.

"So we're just viewing this as another opportunity to get to these big matches and hopefully we'll go one further."