Mowbray cool on Murrayfield move

Mowbray thinks Hearts may have an edge at Murrayfield

Hibs manager Tony Mowbray would appear to have ruled out the possibility of switching their Scottish Cup semi-final with Hearts to Murrayfield.

He fears that his Edinburgh rivals could benefit from such a move, having played their Uefa Cup ties at the home of Scottish rugby last season.

"Neutrality, for me, is the main question," Mowbray told BBC Sport.

"The fact that Hearts have experience of playing there and have a feel for the place, gives them an advantage."

The tie has been scheduled for a 12.15GMT kick-off on 2 April at Hampden.

And Hearts have written to the SFA asking them to consider moving the fixture.

Murrayfield can accomodate some 16,000 more fans than the national football stadium and would significantly reduce travel for the bulk of supporters.

FirstScotRail has confirmed that engineering works at Haymarket station mean there will be only one train every hour from Glasgow to Edinburgh on match day.

"We understand and sympathise with fans who have to travel, because half of those will be our supporters," added Mowbray.

"But, for such a big game, neutrality is the crux of the matter and Hampden undoubtedly offers that.

"It's a massive event for this club and we don't want to be looking at it the following day, not having had the result we wanted, wishing we'd done something different and rueing a lack of neutrality."

Scottish Rugby had also contacted their football counterparts and are keen to make Murrayfield available.

SRU chief executive Gordon McKie said on Tuesday: "If the SFA, Hibs and Hearts want an Edinburgh venue, I think Murrayfield fits the bill perfectly.

Both Scottish Cup semi-finals are planned for Hampden Park

"It's bigger than Hampden and cuts out travelling issues. We have excellent relations with both clubs."

Hearts insists they have no problem with the game going ahead at Hampden but said a change of venue would benefit both clubs.

A spokesman told the club website: "There is little doubt Hibs and Hearts would fill the 68,000-seater stadium and what an advert that would be for the game.

"It would be a real showpiece event for both teams, the city of Edinburgh and Scottish football.

"Naturally the financial side of such an agreement would have to be assessed but we are sure it would work comercially."

Hearts played three European fixtures at Murrayfield last term because their Tynecastle pitch did not meet Uefa standards.