Clydebank boss Gordon Moffat reveals Hibs Scottish Cup masterplan and why he'll shake Dwight Gayle's hand

Clydebank boss Gordon Moffat joked that he’ll shake Dwight Gayle’s hand for his part in wrecking Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge 11 years ago.

But the Manchester United fan is deadly serious about wanting to deal the former Crystal Palace ace and his Hibs team mates a bloody nose at Easter Road this afternoon. Moffat knows the West of Scotland Premier League leaders are massive underdogs but has left no stone unturned in his preparation for the biggest game since they returned as a force 22 years ago.

That’s included enlisting an analyst to study David Gray’s side, sifting through hours upon hours of footage and even taking on a friendly on Monday night on a pitch with the exact same dimensions as Easter Road. But when it comes to the crunch this afternoon the Bankies boss knows his players will still need to run harder than they possibly ever have to stop high flying Hibs.

Gayle climbed off the bench to net a double for Palace in a 3-3 draw with Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool in the penultimate game of the 2013-14 season as the Anfield side blew their title chances by two points. The veteran hitman has hit a hot streak for Hibs too.

And Moffat said: “I’ll probably shake Dwight Gayle’s hand for those goals he scored against Liverpool for Crystal Palace during the run in back in 2014. Liverpool had been 3-0 up but he scored two late goals and it ended 3-3. I’m a Man United fan so I enjoyed that!

“Seriously though, we know his quality and, not just Dwight Gayle, but Hibs have quality right through their team. We recognise the gulf in levels, we're playing a full time side and a good one at that.

"But it's a game of football. We’re not going over there to just sit in and accept it. We're going to have to suffer at