The script goes wrong

Chief Executive Peter Lawwell likes to talk about "telling the Celtic story", and in his head tonight would have seen the triumphant debut of his expensive new No.7, Robbie Keane. Went a bit wrong, though, didn't it?

Instead Jimmy Calderwood got his first win as Kilmarnock boss, thanks to a goal from another debutant, Chris Maguire, in his first match on loan from Aberdeen. With Falkirk also beating Aberdeen tonight, it was a vital win to keep Killie away from the bottom of the table.

Of course, Henrik Larrson's first match for the Hoops ended in a 2-1 defeat to Hibs, so maybe the omens for the new man are pretty good after all. But one thing is clear - Keane might not have been Tony Mowbray's signing, but making the team work with him in it is his problem. If Celtic don't start chipping away at Rangers' 10 point lead soon, the manager could be on his way out.

As We Love Fitba have said before, plenty of Celtic's longer-standing fans are still pretty pleased with Mowbray, and can see the rebuilding job he is attempting to do. But the best managers rebuild squads while still winning on the park (insert obligatory Alex Ferguson reference).

As it is, the "give him time" punters are being drowned out by the impatient "get tae fuck" merchants.

-

In the other big match tonight, St Mirren beat Hearts 1-0 in the CIS League Cup Semi Final, thus ruining Jim Jefferies' return to the Jambos. As St Mirren beat Killie earlier in the competition, this means that Jumbo's been knocked out of the competition by the same club twice in one season - that is bad luck!

SPL plays managerial merry go round

Jim Jefferies will be pleased with the support he's got from the media today, after he and longterm assistant Billy Brown left Kilmarnock "by mutual consent" last night. He is a decent manager who can point to many achievements over nearly 30 years as a gaffer, and the consensus view seems to be that Killie are mental to want rid of him.

Many of the supporters, though, are happy he's gone, and hope a new man might breathe some fresh life into the club. Heavily in debt, there's no doubt that Jefferies was becoming increasingly frustrated by continual cuts to his budget - not only did this affect his squad, but his backroom team has become increasingly threadbare. If Kilmarnock really are operating without a club doctor, as Kevin Kyle complained, then this seems a ludicrous situation for a professional football club in Scotland's top tier.

Still, two points above bottom place, and with Motherwell and Dundee Utd also looking to appoint new managers, Michael Johnston had better have someone lined up to start work soon - or Killie will be in even more danger of being relegated.

Given their current financial difficulties, that would be devastating.

Winners and losers so far in the SPL

So... the transfer window has shut, we're three games in... who's hot and who's not in the SPL this term?

Looking Good...

Rangers have avoided any more departures, and that's a good thing for them. The income from the Champions League (they don't have to share any of it with Celtic now) will help with the cash flow at least, and the arrival of Jerome Rothen on loan from PSG adds experience and guile for those ties too.

Given that they are not even offering new contracts to anyone currently on the payroll (Kris Boyd is now in his final year), don't expect much business in January either, unless they sell first. They remain dependent on a few key players staying fit - otherwise, that title looks very vulnerable. For now, though, the Champions have made an impressive start.

A year ago, Derek Riordan returned to Hibs from Celtic for a rumoured £400,000 (big money these days for a non-OF outfit), and the Edinburgh club's chief executive described the deal as a "statement of intent". This summer, they've invested a similar sum in Anthony Stokes. Hibs now have lots of options up front and John Hughes has done some fairly radical reshaping of the rest of the squad, with Liam Miller the latest to join. It might take time to gel, but Hibs are looking promising.

So are the Arabs, with Craig Levein again pulling a rabbit out of the hat with Danny Cadamateri. Who knows how, but the well-travelled and wayward striker has hit the ground running. Dundee Utd have started well and still have a number of injured players to come back into the team. These two clubs are surely favourites for third place.

Motherwell will be pretty happy with a top six finish, but that looks on the cards following a decent start. Jim Gannon is living up to his reputation, and he's been given some money to bring in much needed strength in depth.

St. Johnstone, meanwhile, managed well-earned draws against Motherwell and Hearts, but got thumped by Celtic. That's a tough start for a promoted team, even if Hearts aren't anywhere near as good as they'd like to be, so probably a job well done. And they are scoring goals, which is crucial for the confidence.

Steady as she goes...

Neither wonderful nor woeful, St Mirren and Kilmarnock have both made respectable starts, and have legitimate reasons for optimism. As both clubs are vulnerable to being dragged into a relegation scrap, any early points are a bonus.

Early signs of shakiness...

After being dumped out of the Champions League, there were rumours that a few Celtic players might be on their way, but in the end they've all stayed. Things should be pretty peachy at Parkhead, yet somehow problems seem to be surfacing early in Tony Mowbray's tenure. The bad natured and narrow win at Hibs looked ugly, with Mowbray first orchestrating a "huddle" at the end of the game and then refusing to accept that McGeady dived (he did, and everyone knows it). A siege mentality at the end of August - is that really healthy?

Still, at least they are winning games, which is more than can be said for Hearts. Manager Csaba Laszlo has been spilling the beans about his difficult relationship with Vladimir, and we all know that Mr Romanov does not tolerate insubordination. Is his employee asking to get sacked? Hearts had a woeful summer, the new signings (much hyped by some supporters) have looked substandard so far, and Larry Kingston is stirring the pot, too. Oh dear.

Things aren't much happier at Aberdeen, where the manager also seems content to moan about his squad in public. Best get your excuses in now, Mark McGhee, because those fans who were so excited about your arrival in the summer might just be having second thoughts.

And so to Hamilton and Falkirk. Both managers were sounding very optimistic during the summer, but that optimism has looked seriously misplaced so far. Falkirk have, at least, held on to Darren Barr and Scott Arfield, two vital players. They are going to need them, while Hamilton look well short of the required standard.

SPL 2009/10 - how's it's going to pan out

The new SPL season is about to kick off, so it's time to put our money where our mouth is and predict who's going to win it... and where everyone else will finish too. Firstly, a health warning: with the transfer window still open until the end of August, there's still time for players to come and go. If Rangers, for example, decide to spend a little of their Champions League windfall (unlikely, we know), then they could still improve their chances of retaining the title.


But this is We Love Fitba's season preview:

1. Celtic will be champions. We might have got it wrong in backing them last season, but we'll do it again this time around. A new management team, new players and the breaking of their European away day hoodoo have all brought optimism to Parkhead this summer. That victory over Dinamo Moscow reinforced the feeling that Tony Mowbray is the right man at the right time, able to inject some verve and flair into the side. With Nakamura and JVH gone and a few new faces, Celtic have refreshed a decent squad and will play with more pace this term.
   
   Key man: Aiden McGeady. Looked like he was on the verge of leaving the club in January, the girl-faced Irishman is an unquestioned talent. If Mowbray can get him back to his best, Celtic will be too strong for everyone else.
   


2. Rangers. Celtic might have thrown away a position of strength last season but Rangers deserve credit for winning the title. Walter Smith has helped to keep the wolf from the door, but there are still clear financial problems at Ibrox. So far this summer, players have gone but none has arrived. Fans can reassure themselves that their club has probably got the best years out of Barry Ferguson, and Birmingham have done them a favour (cheers, Alex McLeish), while Charlie Adam and Alan Gow weren't involved last season anyhow. But Celtic have got stronger while Rangers have stagnated. The squad is looking too thin to defend their crown.
   
   Key man: Kevin Thomson. Talented but fragile, the oft-injured midfielder has a vital role to play this season. With Ferguson gone, Rangers need someone to anchor the midfield and control games. It's telling, though, that Thomson has barely played for Scotland, despite his talent - he needs a solid, uninterrupted season to make his mark.
   


3. Hearts. On the basis that they finished 3rd last time, and no one else looks better placed to challenge them, the "Best of the Rest" title is theirs by default. They have steadily improved throughout pre-season and they seem to have brought in some decent replacements to cover departures. But Bruno Aiguar will be a big loss, and they still need a decent striker. And of course, the swirling rumours about financial problems and Vladimir Romanov's crazy unpredictability threaten to capsize the boat at any moment. Hearts better hope that Lithuanian bank holds out, because it's the only thing stopping them from following Livingston into crisis.
   
   Key man: Andy Driver. If Hearts continue to play with a fence post upfront, then the winger's attacking threat will be even more vital. An injury during the summer probably rules out his transfer this summer, a boost for the team if not the bank balance back in Vilnius. He could well go in January, though.



4. Hibernian. Another new manager for Hibs, and one that Falkirk fans weren't exactly sorry to see go. John Hughes certainly likes his teams to play well, but his results at Falkirk, plus the sales of Rob Jones and Steven Fletcher, suggest little more than top-6 anonymity this time around. However, there is a feeling, just like Mowbray at Celtic, that Hughes is the right man for the job, and that this appointment could work out very well indeed. After all, it was Hughes who got Falkirk to the SPL and kept them there, and got them to the Scottish Cup Final in May as well. He seems to know what's doing, and his roots with the club are doing him no harm at all. And, of course, the Hibs academy just keeps on churning out promising looking players, seven of whom have been promoted to the senior squad.
   
   Key man: Merouane Zemmama. Hibs will still rely on prodigal son Derek Riordan to score the goals, but it's the little Morrocan who Hughes will build his team around. If it works, Hibs could be looking to take 3rd from Hearts.



5. Dundee Utd. As Director of Football, Craig Levein has been busy restructuring the club's academy, admitting that it was not fulfilling its function. A smart move, but not one that's going to have an immediate impact on the first team. As manager, Levein once again traded to try and replace decent players who have gone. The Arabs will be tough competitors but it's hard to see them improve much on last season.
   
   Key man: Morgaro Gomis. That Levein signed the Senegalese midfielder from Cowbenbeath shows the global reach of the game these days. That Roy Keane has offered £800,000 for him shows yet again Levein's eye for a player. With money tight, though, can they hold on to him?
   
   
6. Motherwell. New man, fresh ideas, and a few new faces from the English lower leagues for fans to get used to as well. Jim Gannon is by all accounts a talented manager, and - crucially - used to operating at the "value" end of the transfer market. Motherwell have sold most of their assets and need a manager who can spot a bargain, but Gannon also likes his teams to pass the ball, which the Well fans will lap up. This just could be an inspired appointment.
   
   Key man: Stephen Craigan. With all the youthful enthusiasm ahead of him, the Well skipper could do with a nice, consistent, mistake-free season to show leadership to the young charges and keep the goals against tally respectable.
   
   
7. Aberdeen. The Dons were delighted to get Mark McGhee, who of course was part of the increasingly distant mid-80s glory years, after becoming so exasperated with the two Jimmys. But they've lost Scott Severin and Jamie Smith, the squad looks thin, and pre-season has not gone well. Without more investment, Aberdeen have to be realistic about their prospects. And could it be that Messrs Calderwood and Nicholl actually knew what they were doing? This season may be one to forget for the Dons, while inertia elsewhere leaves the club in seemingly perpetual limbo, wondering whether they are going to leave Pittodrie or not.
   
   Key man: Zander Diamond. Without a prolific striker, Aberdeen need to be tight at the back. Diamond's progress has been erratic but he's shown signs of maturing into a consistent centre-half.
   
   
8. Kilmarnock. Everyone knows that Killie don't have a pot to piss in, and the last couple of seasons have had fans biting fingernails at some point as relegation fears bubble up again at Rugby Park. But Jim Jefferies knows what he's doing and Killie also have the habit of stringing a set of results together when needed. Given the circumstances, they've done well to keep the squad more or less together and - you never know - Mark Burchill might announce his return to Scottish football with goals aplenty. Or not.
   
   Key man: Mehdi Taouil. The Morocco midfielder has tricks and talent, and is just plain good. He should be the difference between Kilmarnock and the teams below them.
   
   
9. St Johnstone. Gretna apart, the promoted club has tended to survive their first season in the SPL, and St Johnstone should do at least that. A well-run club with a solid support, the Saints have been waiting to get back to the top flight for a long time, and finally have their chance. Manager Derek McInnes is both realistic and ambitious, a nice combination to have. They've added a bit of depth to a squad that already looked pretty solid.
   
   Key man: Paul Sheerin. Craft and invention in Perth.
   
   
10. St Mirren. They've not been in the SPL long enough to feel completely secure, but the Buddies should be ok in their first full season in their new home. Gus MacPherson seems to have strengthened the squad, with Michael Higdon from Falkirk earmarked as the man to help score more goals than last season.
    
    Key man: Andy Dorman. Struggled last term, but if he returns to his best then he will make the Buddies tick.
    
    
11. Hamilton. Second Season Syndrome might hit hard at Hamilton, especially having seen James McCarthy and Brian Easton go for big money down South. But Billy Reid has been given some of that cash to rebuild the squad, and has made some big changes to freshen things up. More youthful exuberance/naivety this time around, but it should still be enough.
    
    Key man: Tomas Cerny. To balance out all that youthful inconsistently, an experienced pro between the sticks. A good keeper makes the difference, you know.
    
    
12. Falkirk. Apologies to the Bairns, but their time might be up. Escaped relegation on the last day of last season, and while Eddie May talks a good game (and has the odd pop at previous gaffer John Hughes while he's at it), he also lacks experience. The fans seem optimistic, though, so they won't be bothered by others backing them for the drop.
    
    Key man: Danijel Marceta. The striker has been signed on loan from FK Partizan's academy, which sounds like plenty enough pedigree for the SPL. If he's another Anthony Stokes, then Falkirk may well be laughing in the face of relegation threats.

SPL predictions 08/09

The 08/09 SPL season starts tomorrow, so it's time for we love fitba to stick it's neck out again. No comprehensive preview here - just opinion - but if it's facts you're after, the Beeb have come up with a pretty comprehensive preview this time around

Alternatively, Inside Left have previewed all the weekend's games, and have got more predictions on their site too.

So here's how its' gonna pan out:

1. Celtic, obviously. 3 in a row, and although they were very, very lucky last time, they should have enough in the tank to make it 4. Strachan has won over more of the doubters with that last-gasp title clincher, by proving that even if some of the fans don't believe in him, his players surely do. Holding onto McGeady and Boruc will help, as will the form of Hartley and Robson at the end of last season. Surely Celtic will have a more coherent midfield this season?

The only doubts might arise if Celtic get into a European final, and become as distracted as Rangers did. But it's looking good for the team in green.

2. Rangers. What is Watty Smith up to? He had lots of strikers, so he's gone and bought 3 more, yet forgotten about his midfield entirely. Madjid Bougherra is presumably a replacement for Cuellar. It may all make sense come the end of August (will Real Madrid panic buy Lee McCulloch for £30m to get over being jilted by Ronaldo) but it doesn't right now.

3. Dundee Utd. Craig Levein is not just the manager at Tannadice, but he sits on the board too. The trust he enjoys there seems to be transmitted to his players, and he's done well in the transfer market, getting Willo Flood to return for another season's loan and strengthening upfront to make up for Noel Hunt's departure. Good work.

4. Hibs. Everyone's written off Hibs, who have had a shocking pre-season. Yet radgy manager Mixu Paatelainen has already shown he can mix it in the SPL, with decent results if not performances. Now he needs to step up, by proving he can beat the Old Firm occasionally as well, and get the team playing better football. He's not a great tactician, mind.

5. Motherwell. Did brilliantly by finishing 3rd last season, but the squad looks weaker without Ross McCormack, and manager Mark McGhee is not known for his consistency.

6. Falkirk. Slowly, slowly inching their way up the League, and play decent football too. This could be their season to break into the top 6. Their worry will be that another club finally realises what a fine job John Hughes is doing, and nicks the gaffer.

7. Aberdeen. Some characteristic wheeling and dealing from Jimmy Calderwood this season, but hard to say if the squad is any better. And the fans really don't like him at all, despite the UEFA Cup heroics last season. The wheels might be about to come off.

8. Hearts. They might have a manager at long last, but they've only made one signing so far, and that's just not enough. All the talk of unity and togetherness just rings a little hollow, too... this is Hearts we're talking about, after all. Expect the next crisis sometime before November, as Vlad re-asserts his authority and starts faxing through the team sheets again. Jambos believing that they are going to finish 3rd are living in dreamland.

9. Kilmarnock. Shocking last season, but the shock should jolt them into a (slight) improvement this time around.

10. St Mirren. Steady as she goes at Love St. Wait, not Love St, that'll be a building site come the end of the season.

11. Hamilton. They're young, untested at this level, and should go straight back down again. But that's no fun! Let's go crazy and predict a stirring start for the new boys, until reality and injuries kick in and they sink to a still-respectable finish.

12. Inverness Caley Thistle. Really not great last season, and with Niculae gone, it can only get worse. Will be hoping that Hamilton get put in their place early on.

Old Firm tied at the top of the SPL as Rangers beat Celtic again

Rangers won the first Old Firm clash of the season on Saturday, an impressive 3-0 win that puts the Old Firm level on points again at the top of the SPL. After two seasons of not mounting a decent challenge for the title, this season's battle already looks like it could go down to the wire.

Gordon Strachan admitted that Rangers deserved to win, and he will be used to it by now - since Walter Smith returned to Ibrox, they've won all three Old Firm clashes. To be fair, Celtic weren't helped by a nasty head injury to captain Stephen McManus, especially as Gary Caldwell is such an inferior defender. With the games now coming thick and fast, Celtic still need to learn how to stop conceding cheap goals or their season could unravel.

Elsewhere, Hibs' unbeaten start to the season was ended by impressive Motherwell, but John Collins praised his players for their performance: with Hibs only a point off the leaders, he claimed there is a "huge amount to feel positive about". Mark McGhee was naturally pleased with the win, but was also full of praise for Collins' passing football philosophy. These two teams are arguably the ones a neutral would choose to watch this season.

Hearts were undone by Dundee Utd, and Aberdeen beat ICT. Kilmarnock and Falkirk shared the points, while St Mirren beat Gretna to move away from the foot of the table.

Hibs looking up, while Killie suffer

Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies is famed for his hang-dog, glum demeanour, but no one could blame him for looking dejected after what he described as possibly his worst week in charge of the Ayrshire club.

Being dumped out of the League Cup, and by Division One opposition as well, was a desperately bitter pill to swallow for a man desperate to make amends for their 5-1 thrashing in last season's final. Killie's best hope of silverware this season has now gone, and Jefferies knows it.

He might have relished taking out his frustrations on Hibs in the SPL, but with a long injury list, probably feared the worst. And the worst did happen - Hibs only scored 4 on Saturday, but having a defender sent off probably hurt as much as shipping an extra goal. Jefferies had ligitimate complaints about the first of 3 penalties awarded to Hibs in the match, but admitted that the better team won. He now faces a real test in steadying the ship... Kilmarnock are currently 7th and face a crucial period in which they need to pick up some points while missing many of their influential players. A couple of good results will have a dramatic effect on their League placing at this stage of the season, but Killie fans must already be concerned about their chances of securing a top 6 finish this season.

Things are looking so much brighter at Hibs. Saturday's victory meant that they resumed their unbeaten start to the SPL almost as if the mid-week Cup defeat had never happened, and opened up a 5 point lead betweeen them in 3rd place and the chasing pack. Their play is improving match by match, with this summer's new recruits starting to really gel into the team. Clayton Donaldson, the striker signed on a free transfer from York City, got all the headlines with his hat-trick, but Yves Ma-Kalambay in goal and defender Thierry Gathuessi have also settled well.

After losing around £10m worth of talent in the summer, and spending no more than £1m on fees to replace them, Hibs' have started better than many fans expected, and any remaining doubts about John Collins' perfectionist management style are melting away. Whatever his methods, they seem to be working.

Hibs and Killie bow out of the League Cup early

If nothing else, we know that there will be a different name on CIS League Cup this season. Last March's finalists, Hibernian and Kilmarnock, were both dumped out of the competition this week, and won't even make the quarter finals.

For the holders, it's hardly a spirited defence of their first trophy for 16 years. Hibs' unbeaten start to the season also ended with the 4-2 defeat by Motherwell. And yet, in a strange way, Hibs might get over this disappointment quite quickly. The chances of this club successfully defending their prize were, frankly, slim. The only thing consistent about Hibs is their inconsistency. Instead, with their next Cup tie not until January, Hibs have a clear run through til New Year to try and amass as many SPL points as possible. The real prize on offer to the Easter Road club this season is a 3rd place League finish, and the UEFA Cup place that comes with it. If Hibs achieve that, this early season disappointment will be long forgotten.

Kilmarnock, meanwhile, have now lost the opportunity to avenge last year's disappointment in the final, where they got comprehensively beat. In fact, their best performance in last year's League Cup came in the semi final against Falkirk, but they no longer have Steven Naismith to run riot as he did in that game. As well as that loss, they are now trying to cope with a worrinngly long injury list.

We'll know who recovers more quickly from their midweek disappointments this weekend - Hibs and Killie face eachother in the SPL this weekend.

Celtic finally stumble over the line after a lacklustre race

So Celtic have finally won the SPL 2006/07, after a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. Gordon Strachan has emulated the feat of his predecessor, Martin O'Neill, and won back-to-back titles in his first two seasons at the club. His award as Scottish Players' Association Manager of the Year later on Sunday night was recognition for the fine job he has done rebuilding the Celtic squad while maintaining a dominance over the rest of Scottish football. It was his best signing, Shunsuke Nakamura, who secured the win with a trademark freekick right at the end of the game (he also won the player of the year award, too).

Yet clearly all is not well with Scottish football. Celtic's hold on the title was practically complete by Christmas, and it was only their recent poor form that kept Rangers in with a mathematical chance of snatching the championship until the split. Of Hearts, last season's pretenders to the crown, there was no sign. It is impossible not to let the paucity of competition take some of the shine off Celtic's latest trophy.

There were 8,000 Celtic fans down in Ayrshire to celebrate with the team on Sunday, limited by Kilmarnock's decision not to turn even more of their ground over to the visitors and annoy their season ticket holders, rather than a lack of seats. Kilmarnock really don't have anything more to play for this season - but, as Jim Jefferies sighed, this lack of revenue will hurt his plans for rebuilding his squad over the summer.

Even more depressing was the pitiful crowd at Pittodrie. They weren't helped by a tiny travelling support from Hibs, but less than 10,000 people turned up to watch Aberdeen try and secure European football for next season. Aberdeen have improved markedly in recent years, and yet their supporters just don't seem interested. It's true that they aren't the prettiest team to watch, but without more punters coming back and putting more money into the club, the chances of them attracting better players in the summer remain remote.

Something, it's clear, has got to change.

Hibs party after finally bringing a trophy home

Hibs have won the CIS League Cup, after a thrilling final at Hampden. After years of heartache and disappointment, they have at last won a tangible reward for their efforts. Fittingly, they won the trophy with the brand of passing football that has become their trademark.

The club last won a trophy in 1991 - that was the League Cup too, although it was sponsored by Skol lager back then. Since then, they and every other club in Scottish football have watched as Rangers and Celtic have hoovered up every championship between them, and most of the other silverware on offer as well. But Hibs failed to pick up any of the occasional scraps that were thrown from the Old Firm table.

To be fair, for much of that period they had other things to worry about, such as crippling debt, relegation battles, or managers that had lost their way. Most cup runs had ended prematurely, but in recent years they had got tantalisingly close, before failing once again. It was no great surprise that they were beaten by Celtic in the 2001 Scottish Cup final, but losing the League Cup final to Livingston in 2004 was a real shock. In 2005 and 2006 they were defeated in Scottish Cup semi finals, the latter a traumatic spanking by Hearts. But not this time. Hibernian are the Cinderella of Scottish football no more.

Sunday's 5-1 scoreline was a bit harsh on Kilmarnock, in the sense that history will record this match as a one-sided thrashing, which it wasn't. The first half was fairly even, as predicted by most pundits, with the atrocious weather making conditions difficult and both sides keeping the opposition's strikers quiet and patiently looking for an opening. If Steven Naismith's 20th minute effort hadn't gone just wide of the Hibs goal, the game would have been very different. But Kilmarnock did less well 7 minutes later, when they allowed Rob Jones to get a run at a Hibs corner and bullet the header into the net.

Kilmarnock probably felt aggrieved to go into the break a goal down, but already there were cracks appearing that would become chasms in the 2nd half. The key to the match was that Hibernian used the width of the Hampden pitch much more effectively. While Naismith swapped flanks trying to get on the ball, Ivan Sproule was always available on the Hibs right to receive the ball and run at the opponents. Killie doubled up on him to negate the threat, but this left yawning gaps on the other side of the park. With Hibs' two fullbacks always bright and looking to get forward, they started to dominate possession.

As well as pretty football, Hibs have also developed a reputation for trusting in youth, and they were true to their philosophy here. As well as a 19 year old, Andy McNeil, in goal, they had another teenager, Lewis Stevenson, in midfield. The precocious young scamp even had the cheek to collect the Man of the Match award.

From the sidelines, John Collins was constantly driving his team on. There was no question Hibs were going to try and sit on a one goal lead - they wanted to win in emphatic style. The strikers started coming into the game more as Hibs went for the kill, and Steven Fletcher and Abdessalam Benjelloun got a goal each before Killie scored themselves from a corner. 3-1 down, with 15 minutes to go, Killie had no choice but to attack, but it left them exposed at the back, and they conceded the final 2 goals in the last 5 minutes. It was only then that their loyal fans started leaving in numbers, as the Hibs supporters danced and sang in delight.

If 30,000 supporters belting out "Sunshine on Leith" at Hampden wasn't enough to convince onlookers of how much this meant to the club, the scenes back in Edinburgh made it abudantly clear. As the open top bus carried the trophy and the team through Leith to the stadium, tens of thousands lined the streets to applaud their heroes, and then stormed the stadium to see the cup being brought home. There were chaotic scenes as some fans invaded the pitch and ruined the planned presentation, but this was a spontaneous outpouring of joy. The pubs around the stadium then heaved with punters drinking to their success late into the night.

That's what happens when a club that has been starved of success finally has something to celebrate.

CIS League Cup Final preview

With Rangers predictably coming unstuck against Osasuna last night (the crowd trouble was – sadly – predictable as well), Scottish football clubs are now entirely concentrated on domestic matters. Handy, then, that the first trophy of the season is up for grabs on Sunday.

Refreshingly, given Celtic's runaway lead in the league, neither side of the Old Firm is involved in the CIS League Cup Final. In fact, this is the first year since 1979 that neither Celtic nor Rangers made it to the semi-final stage of the League Cup. Disgraceful and myopic scheduling means that Celtic are playing an SPL fixture on Sunday (was there really no other date available?), but thanks to their loss against Rangers last week, they will not win the title for another week at least. Hopefully, this means the winner of the Cup should enjoy a moment in the spotlight, before being obscured by the Old Firm shadow again.

Least important of the big three domestic competitions it might be, but a League Cup trophy would mean a huge amount to either Hibernian or Kilmarnock. Hampden Park’s 50,000 seats were sold out as soon as they went on sale, a measure of the anticipation from both sets of fans. The Killie boss, Jim Jefferies, has said that winning this one would be even more important than the Scottish Cup he won as Hearts boss in 1998, while Hibs have waited 16 years since their last piece of silverware (Division One trophy excepted).

Finals are often disappointing games, as the tension of the occasion feeds into a cagey approach on the pitch, but this one could be a classic. Hibs and Killie are very evenly matched: they are currently locked together on 43 points in the league. Killie were arguably more impressive on route to the final, especially in the Semi Final where they dismantled Falkirk, but then Hibs overcame an impressively combative St Johnstone. The bookies agree – Hibs are marginal favourites, but there is very little in it.

Both are tidy footballing sides, too, who will want to exploit the wide open spaces of Hampden park. There's a little added spice, too, with Jefferies’ past as Hearts manager – he makes no secret of the joy he takes in getting one over the Jambo’s bitter rivals. As an ex-Hibs player, John Collins needs no lectures in his club’s trophy-starved past.

It would be unfair to characterise Kilmarnock as a one-man team, but their hopes for success probably do rest on the slender shoulders of Steven Naismith. Still young enough not to have worked out yet whether he is a winger or a striker, Naismith’s goals did for Falkirk, and Killie will be looking to get him on the ball at every opportunity. For Hibs, it’s a little more complex – they are a pretty but fragile footballing side, who score lots of goals but have regular defensive jitters. Scott Brown is a certain starter and will be his usual industrious self, but will need the rest of the midfield to click if he isn’t to be chasing down blind alleys all afternoon.

Whatever the result, season 2006/7 will see a club outside the usual hegemony win something worthwhile. And that has to be good for Scottish football as a whole.