Dunfermline daring to dream as Hibs blow it again...

Celtic are on for the double this season. Having secured the SPL title last Sunday, they now look forward to the Scottish Cup Final on 26 May. If they lift the trophy, it will be a dream ending to the season, particularly for captain Neil Lennon who will be playing his last game for the club.

But if you think that would taste sweet, just think what the double would mean to your average Pars fan. Not winning the League and Cup, of course, but winning the Cup and avoiding relegation. They are already in Europe next season, thanks to Celtic qualifying for the Champions League and thus offering up the UEFA Cup place that comes with the Scottish Cup. To go into that competition as an SPL team, rather than one in Division One, would not just be good for Dunfermline, it would be good for Scottish football as a whole. After all, a club living on even further reduced means will probably find Continental competition even more of a stretch.

Of course, Celtic are overwhelming favourites to lift the Cup, and, 4 points adrift at the bottom of the SPL with just 4 games to play, avoiding relegation doesn't look all that likely either. But it's worthwhile remembering what Dunfermline have already achieved this season. When Stephen Kenny came in as manager in November, Dunfermline were simply hopeless, miles adrift at the bottom of the League and unable to score goals.

That haven't scored many goals since, to be fair, but what Kenny did was work on the things he could improve. He tightened up the system, getting Dunfermline to play in a tight, compact formation that's hard to break down, and he instilled belief in his players. They might still be bottom of the SPL, but the players work for each other, and their manager. Finally, he did what he could to augment the squad, bringing in Adam Hammill on loan from Liverpool and Stephen Glass on loan from Hibs in January, and signing Tam McManus as a free agent. All players that could give either creativity or an attacking outlet to the side.

They were outplayed for long periods of Tuesday night's replay, but they are no longer easy to score against, and when they won a penalty in the 85th minute Jim McIntyre grabbed the opportunity to take the lead. They have now knocked Rangers, Hearts and Hibs out of the Cup.

Where now for Hibs? This was the 3rd Semi-Final in a row for them in the competition they haven't won for 105 years, and the curse remains for another year at least. They haven't been the same side since the CIS Cup Final, and the dressing-room bust up / player revolt that followed has clearly damaged them. For a club that doesn't win silverware very often, they took very little time in taking the shine off the trophy. The manager's job is safe, though, despite the stories of unrest, and he will look to rebuild his squad in the summer and see what he can do with his own team next season. The remaining league games this term are of little consequence now.

Meanwhile, Dunfermline have an absolutely crucial game against St Mirren this weekend. Mathematically, Motherwell aren't quite safe yet either, but the reality of the situation is that only St Mirren or Dunfermline can go down this season. So Saturday's game is the classic six-pointer.

If Stephen Kenny does pull this off, he deserves to be hailed as Manager of the Season, without doubt. And remember, he has some European pedigree too - it was his Derry team who gubbed Gretna in the UEFA Cup at the beginning of the season, before drawing 0-0 with PSG.

And he's still someway off his 40th birthday. He really could become some manager.