PETER Hartley has battled the beast. Now he plans to tame the buffalo. The last time Motherwell’s combative central defender visited one of the grand stages of the British game came at Wembley in last May’s League Two play-off final, when he faced the unenviable task of shackling the hulking 17-stone presence that is Adebayo Akinfenwa, the publicity-shy striker, now of Wycombe Wanderers, who is quite possibly the largest professional footballer in the history of the sport.

So let’s just say that media morsels such as Alfredo Morelos’ recent insistence that he loves the "aggressive and physical" elements of the Scottish game are meat and drink to the English defender. Indeed, if Rangers’ free-scoring striker wants a physical challenge at Hampden Park on Sunday, then the Motherwell central defender has just volunteered to be the man to give it to him. The brawny English defender’s anticipation of the occasion falls only just short of what, under playground rules, people used to call a ‘square go’. “If that’s one of his strengths, then we’ll see what happens,” said Hartley. “I don’t mind a physical fight. If he wants one after the match as well, then I won’t be going anywhere.”

It is perhaps worth pointing out here and now that Hartley’s showdown with Akinfenwa came to a rather beastly end. The giant striker, then of AFC Wimbledon, scored the last-minute penalty which ended Plymouth Argyle’s hopes of a League Two Play-off final win. All that was bad enough were it not for the fact that Hartley was actually off the field then, having been stretchered off and requiring treatment after Akinfenwa landing on top of him left him severely winded.

“I played at Wembley a couple of years ago for Plymouth,” Hartley said. “We got beaten 2-0 on the day and in fairness to Wimbledon, they really did a job on us. We had a lot of the ball, but I don’t think we managed a shot on target. Akinfenwa played for Wimbledon that day. He is twice as wide as me – an absolute tank.

“He scored for them, but I was off the pitch at the time getting treatment because he landed right on top of me,” Hartley added. “I had to be stretchered off because I honestly thought I had broken my ribs. He’s about 20 stone and he came down right on top of me, and with the way he landed on me, my back just totally went into spasms. It wasn’t pleasant, that’s for sure. But it would mean the world to me if I could reach another final. I’m 29 now, so I’m at the stage of my career where I really want to experience these big occasions. This is different to the Play-off Final. It would be the biggest game of my career.”

Hartley, who scored the winner after Andy Rose had cancelled out Giannis Skondras' opener for the hosts, said that Saturday's Lanarkshire derby against Hamilton Accies was a bit like being "in League Two again" and that suited this muscular Motherwell side perfectly. They would back themselves in a battle against any club in the country and aren't going to Hampden to make up the numbers.

“That physical style suits all three of us – myself, Cedric [Kipre] and Dunney.[Charles Dunne]. If teams want to try and do what we do, we know we are going to be better than them.

“We saw the fans queuing up at the stadium to buy tickets for the semi-final during the week, but knew we still had a huge game against our rivals to take care of first,” said Hartley, who was down south for his son Emerson’s christening yesterday. ‘When you see the fans queuing up like that, it hits home about how much this game means because semi-finals don’t come around every season. We certainly won’t be going to Hampden to make up the numbers. Without a doubt, we fancy our chances.”