Hearts fans are convinced this time will be different

Richard Gough, Rangers' veteran captain, will sympathise with those Hearts fans who have watched their team lose four finals since they lifted the trophy back in 1956. Gough knows all too well the empty feeling of hopes dashed on the big occasion.

Hearts supporters will today dismiss 42 years of history and stampede to Parkhead with the illogical conviction that their team can win the Scottish Cup in a final against Rangers.

Those four final appearances have all ended in ignominy for Tynecastle supporters. On every occasion, they were not so much beaten as thrashed. Their last try, only two years ago, brought the embarrassment of a 5-1 defeat by today's opponents.

But, with the Scottish FA having agreed to an even split of the 50,000 tickets for Parkhead - the neutral venue while Hampden Park is rebuilt - the Edinburgh side could have sold their allocation twice over.

All of those who wear the maroon favours will be convinced that, this time, it will be different. The optimism survives despite a league match between the clubs at Tynecastle only three weeks ago which ended in a 3-0 victory for Rangers. The Ibrox team have won two and drawn the other of the previous three Premier Division matches. Unreasonable though it may seem, however, those Hearts supporters are entitled to their optimism.

For Gough has been on the losing side in two of the five Scottish Cup finals in which he has appeared, and he captained Tottenham at Wembley when they lost the 1987 FA Cup, against the odds, to Coventry City.

Those experiences have left Gough with an undisguised caution when it comes to assessing his prospects of gaining a fourth winner's medal when he plays his last match for the outgoing champions.

At 36, Gough is ending an 11-year association with Rangers which seemed to have been terminated a year ago but which was renewed last autumn when a rush of injuries forced the manager, Walter Smith, to re-sign his old ally back from Major League Soccer, where he had gone to join Kansas City Wiz.

Gough confesses, almost startlingly, that the proposed recall filled him with an uncharacteristic wariness about returning within five months to a club with whom he had won 10 league championships, six league Cups and three Scottish Cups, leaving him more decorated than the Red Baron.

"The fear I had about coming back was my age," said Gough. "I wondered about carrying on playing at a seriously competitive level without sustaining injuries.

"The point was that Walter was bringing me back because of long-term injuries to other players, especially Lorenzo Amoruso, who had been signed from Fiorentina specifically to replace me. I didn't fancy the idea of my getting injured and having people asking, `Why did they bring back that old crock?'

"As it happens, though, I've stayed clear of injuries and I feel great. I've played 95 straight games without a break since 1996, and I'm going back to the States on Monday to kick off another 30 games next Saturday for San Jose Clash.

"At my stage, this is probably a wise move. It could be dangerous to stop and take a break, as I might not get started again. But I've always had good personal motivation. When that goes, I'll recognise that it's time to stop."

Gough will certainly have as powerful a sense of urgency as anyone on the field today, as Rangers are threatened with their first season without a single trophy since 198586. As he did not sign for Graeme Souness from Spurs until the following season, he has never experienced a barren campaign at Ibrox.

He has a healthy regard for Hearts, despite the previous form between the teams, and was not slow to voice his concern. "They stayed with Celtic and Rangers through to the last three weeks of the league championship," he said. "So we're not talking about a team who got lucky.

"You can pick out a handful of players, like Steve Fulton, Paul Ritchie, David Weir, Neil McCann and Stephane Adam, who have all been at the top of their form throughout the season. They have pace and imagination and they'll be dangerous."

Gough is likely to play behind the weakest midfield of his entire time at Ibrox. With Paul Gascoigne removed to Middlesbrough, Jorg Albertz suspended and Jonas Thern unavailable because of injury, Smith's entire first-choice unit of only a few weeks ago is gone.

The possible replacements do not inspire confidence. Stuart McCall is diminished by age and wear and tear - betrayed by his omission from Craig Brown's World Cup squad. Ian Ferguson, Charlie Miller and Ian Durrant have hardly played in the first team this season, while Rino Gattuso is a 20-year-old Italian with energy to burn but no discernible talent.

Hearts' manager Jim Jefferies took his squad to Stratford-uponAvon earlier this week to prepare at the headquarters used by Scotland during Euro 96 and returned with a full-strength squad. As always, the cup is likely to be won by the team less affected by nerves.

Hearts' time may at last be at hand.

Hearts (probable): Rousset; McPherson, Weir, Ritchie, Naysmith; Salvatori, Fulton, Cameron, McCann; Adam, Hamilton.

Rangers (probable): Goram; Amoruso, Gough, Bjorklund; Porrini, McCall, Gattuso, Durrant, Stensaas; Laudrup, Durie.