By John Greechan

Copyright scotsman

If the crowd for his most recent outing at Scotland’s national stadium couldn’t quite be tallied up with a quick head count, it’s still fair to say that Jack Iredale hasn’t enjoyed the full immersive Hampden Experience. Not yet, anyway. It’s a box he’d love to tick as soon as possible. While a lot of the focus surrounding tomorrow’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final at Ibrox is on the chaotic state of the home team, Hibs have reasons beyond rivalry for wanting to pile more misery on Rangers. The winners of this tie ascend to a semi-final on Mount Florida; a prize worth chasing in any campaign. World traveller Iredale, who spent the most recent international break travelling to Canberra and then New Zealand after getting his first full Socceroos call-up, is already familiar with the semi-final venue. But knows that, should Hibs get past Rangers to secure a spot in the last four, he’ll be in for something completely different. “I played at Hampden a number of times when I was on loan at Queen’s Park – but that was in front of about 500 people rather than the full house,” said the Scots-born Aussie. “And I think there’s loads of boys that haven’t experienced that. “I’ve not experienced an atmosphere at Hampden so any chance to play at Hampden is fantastic. And you want to go all the way, don’t you?” Expanding on his previous outings at the ground, way back when he was adjusting to Scottish football after making the long trek from Down Under, Iredale revealed: “Yeah, that was really my first experience in professional football. Morton signed me and let me go on loan to get the experience. “I went there and played for six months under Gus McPherson. I was 21 years old, trying to figure out what it means to be a professional footballer at the same time as Scottish football, being thrown into League One. Playing in a stadium like that was incredible – and hopefully we can get there again. “I just remember the pitch being lovely and that’s all that matters really. At the time I don’t really think I thought about it too much I was just enjoying getting paid to play football, really. “That was my dream job and thankfully seven, eight years later I’m still being able to do it just on a bigger stage now. I’m thankful for the opportunity that I can still do this.” The stages don’t get much bigger, in terms of national and international spotlight, than heading to Ibrox to face a Rangers team in the midst of a seemingly inescapable tailspin. A lot of people will be tuning into tomorrow evening’s live broadcast for all the wrong reasons. Admitting that it’s only professional for Hibs to go into Govan looking to exploit any crisis of confidence in the home ranks. Iredale said: “Yeah, it’s either them or us, isn’t it? We want to win; they want to win. “I can sort of sympathise with how difficult the run that they’re going through is because we felt it last season – and we know what that feels like. But we also know how quickly it can turn and what can happen when it does turn. “So it’s going to be a massive game. It’s always tough going to Ibrox. It’s a great stadium to play at but it can also be a daunting one as well so we’re all looking forward to the challenge.” Hibs won at Ibrox as recently as April, Iredale laughing as he recalled: “I remember Jordan Obita’s shanked pass up the middle of the pitch for Boyle to run through and slot it in! Nah, it’s the same as you go to any of the Glasgow sides. You’re going to need to sacrifice without the ball and be good when you’ve got the ball. “That was my first time playing there so I didn’t have a mental block to start with, to be fair. I don’t really get nervous, it’s more excitement – and that was no different. You want to go to these big stadiums and test yourself against the best players.” Your next Hibs read: UEFA coach breaks down chances of away win at Ibrox