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AS a younger man, Ian Murray would have been buzzing along the M8 to Dumbarton tonight.
He still will be – but in a different way. Ordinarily, he’d be looking for his boyhood heroes Hibernian to get the points to consolidate their place in the Championship’s top four.
Instead, he’s looking to cash in on the Edinburgh side’s recent turbulence and manage his Sons side to a big victory.
Having already secured survival in the Championship, a win tonight will ensure Dumbarton are Scotland’s best part-time side for the second year in a row.
They’re up against a Hibs side who have lost their last three games, but are still making a challenge to win promotion alongside their city rivals, champions Hearts.
However, even if it is Hibs who make the play-off final, Ian has a tough prediction for them.
He said: “I don’t think anyone will go up through the play-offs – I’ve been saying that since the start of the season that the Championship team won’t beat the second bottom side in the Premiership.
“Everyone is tired mentally and if you need to win four or six more games in order to win promotion, it’s going to be very difficult.
“If you factor in the Scottish Cup final in the case of either Hibs or Falkirk, it’s going to be even more difficult to raise your game often enough to win the play-offs as well.
“They would potentially have to peak seven times in a two-and-a-half week period.”
But the gaffer reckons he has a solution.
He continued: “The biggest thing to address is that we need to expand the top league. Look at the excitement our league has generated this season, with ourselves competing against the likes of Rangers, Hearts and Hibs.
“That’s along with the Premiership, with Aberdeen and Dundee United pushing at the top and Hamilton starting so well.
“In my view an 18-20 team league would suit everyone, but the chances of it happening are probably very slim.”
We are chatting before Dumbarton’s 1-0 win over Falkirk, six days after Rangers have inflicted Hibs’ first defeat of 2015, a 2-0 reverse at Easter Road.
Since then, Raith Rovers and Queen of the South have also taken full points off Hibs.
But while the Sons gaffer is in no doubt that Hearts are worthy champions, he’s also full of praise for the club he served for many years as a player.
He added: “You can’t argue with the league table – certainly not with the points difference and the way Hearts have played. The way they started was excellent.
“But the best team at the moment could be Hibs, who have really started to motor. They’ve got the consistency with results and the way they play is far greater than what it was when we played them earlier in the season.
“Hearts deserve to win the league, but from a team point of view Hibs have been doing well of late.”
The Dumbarton Terrace 