Robbie Neilson wants to add to Hearts’ Marius Zaliukas tribute by winning the Scottish Cup for his former teammate.
The Tynecastle club confirmed yesterday that their players will wear the Lithuanian’s number 26 on their shorts when they take on Celtic at Hampden on Sunday.
The 36-year-old sadly passed away from motor neurone disease at the end of October - the same day Hearts’ booked their spot in the final with a 2-1 extra-time win over rivals Hibs.
Tributes poured in for Zaliukas in the following days, with scarves, strips, flags and flowers left outside the stadium in his memory.
Now the club plan to honour their former captain on the biggest stage, who was the last in maroon to lift the Scottish Cup after they thumped Hibs 5-1 in the 2012 final.
And while Neilson believes it's an important gesture, an even more important won is winning the cup for ‘Big Zal’.
“I think it’s really important,” he said. “Marius was a massive part of the club. I knew him very well and he lifted the cup in 2012.
“What happened to him in the last couple of years is devastating for everyone. It’s a little bit of a tribute to him. Hopefully we can win it for him as well.”
Goalkeeper Craig Gordon will likely play a key role if Hearts are to put an end to Celtic’s dominance of domestic silverware.
And Neilson is hoping his gain will be Celtic’s loss after the Parkhead club made a half-hearted attempt to keep the Scotland international at the club in the summer.
“It’s good for him,” he said. “He made a big decision to leave Celtic and come to ourselves in the Championship.
“The first thing was to try and play week in, week out and try to get himself in the Scotland squad. So he’s managed to do that.
“And then to get an opportunity to play in a cup final against the guys who have just let you go is a big motivation for him. So we need to help him make sure he gets a result.
"Thankfully we’ve got him. He’s been great since day one. And he will be a big part of the game on Sunday.
“As a back four there is nothing better than having a guy like that behind you. He is very vocal and he organises behind you. If he is shouting for it, he is going to come and claim it.
“The defence has done very well this season and he has been one of the key aspects of that.”
