FORMER Rangers defender Ian Murray thinks Saturday’s Scottish Cup final against Hibs could be a classic – and reckons it could end up needing penalties to separate his two former teams. Murray, who spent two years at Ibrox as well as two stints at Easter Road, will be an interested spectator at Hampden as Rangers look to win the cup for the first time since 2009. The former Dumbarton and St Mirren manager is confident this final will break the mould of cagey, tense affairs with the two teams committed to all-out attack. And he reckons fans from both sides could be in for a long afternoon, with every chance it might take kicks from the spot before a winner is crowned.

He said: “I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a good game on Saturday. I don’t know why as cup finals are usually cagey but when you see the way the two teams play I think this could be a 2-2 or a 3-3 draw after extra time and then go to penalties. And at that point it will just come down to whoever can handle the pressure better on the day.”

Hibs go into Saturday’s showpiece event on a low having lost the League Cup final to Ross County and then failing to win promotion after Falkirk knocked them out the playoffs at the semi-final stage. That would seem to pile extra pressure on manager Alan Stubbs and his players as they look to win Hibs’ first Scottish Cup for 114 years but Murray felt that expectation among Hibs fans was really low and that few genuinely believe they can defeat Mark Warburton’s men.

He added: “I was speaking to some Hibs fans before the League Cup final and the expectation levels were pretty low which was quite refreshing. I think the pressure was off Hibs that day, it wasn’t as intense as I had I felt in certain years. And I get that feeling about this weekend too, partly because it’s Rangers but also because they’ve lost the League Cup and the playoffs. I’ve been telling people I think Hibs can win it and they’re basically telling me to shut up as they don’t believe it. They’ve been worn down over the years I think.”

Murray was a Rangers player during Paul Le Guen’s brief reign as manager in 2006. He was disappointed in the way that all ended having enjoyed working with the Frenchman, and admitted he could later empathise given the way his own short spell as St Mirren manager came to an end late last year.

He recalled: “I think Le Guen had similar issues that I had at St Mirren. Player power for him was tough. He came in at a desperate time for the club, Celtic were streets ahead of us domestically and Hearts were strong too. He did well in Europe that people sometimes forget. I got on really well with him and I liked the way he went about things. But you’re not going to get everyone on your side which happens in football. It’s hard for foreign managers coming from a completely different background. It takes time. And they are under a lot of pressure at the Old Firm as well. Nothing can prepare you for that.

“Being at St Mirren earlier in the season made me appreciate more what he went through. You know yourself things are slipping away and you just don’t know what else you can do to turn it around. You’re giving everything but other things are going against you. Le Guen looked a man resigned to going home after a while. He wasn’t a crazy disciplinarian like everyone thought and I was sorry to see him leave.”

Murray played more than 60 games for Rangers and was involved in the Champions League campaign in 2005/06 when Alex McLeish’s men became the first Scottish team to reach the last 16 of the competition. His only regret is the mystery reactive arthritis virus that floored him for six months and left him so weak he could hardly open a door.

He recalled: “The arthritis thing was bizarre. I remember we arrived at the airport in South Africa after flying out for pre-season and I wasn’t feeling great. It was like the flu coming on. And then the next day I couldn’t lift my arm or leg. It was too sore. I tried to train and just couldn’t. The club sent me home and told me to rest for as long as it takes. And then I came back bit by bit, one day at a time and then after six months it was gone and never troubled me again. They never really got to the bottom of it. I never felt ill, I was just aching. I couldn’t open a door as there was no strength in my arm. And eventually it eased off and never reappeared.

“But I still played around 60 games for Rangers which is more than people might think. And featuring in the Champions League was a brilliant memory. I’ll never forget that.”