Hearts have two games to play this week and believe me when I say their players will be absolutely desperate to see the back of them.
That’s how it is when you have a cup final ahead of you.
All you want is the final whistle to sound in the last game before it and to be fit and healthy and ready to prepare for one of the biggest games of your career.
That’s how the Hearts boys will be feeling ahead of their trip to Fir Park on Wednesday night and then when Rangers come to town on the final day of the league season on Saturday.
Under normal circumstances that could have been an absolute blockbuster. Rangers could have been going to Tynecastle needing a win to keep title or the Jambos might have needed the three points to get into Europe.
Had those scenarios played out, the old place would have been rocking.
Instead, it’s going to be a damp squib because of what lies ahead for both teams.
Listen, it’s a massive credit to Robbie Neilson and his squad that they secured third spot so early that they can afford to relax a bit going into the final league games of the season and with the Scottish Cup Final waiting for them on May 21.
And in a way, it has given Robbie a dilemma because he doesn’t have to play his strongest team in these two matches, while at the same time he will want to keep his main men match-fit, because all the training sessions in the world don’t replicate the intensity of a match day.
Also, he won’t want Hearts going to Hampden on the back of another couple of defeats, having lost 4-1 at the weekend to Celtic, so I don’t think he’ll wrap too many of his players in cotton wool. I know I wouldn’t want to be. I always felt I had to play to keep myself ticking over.
So, I reckon Robbie will stick with a strong team for both games this week but that Rangers match, in particular, is going to be strange.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side not only have the Scottish Cup Final to think about... in fact, they won’t be giving it a second thought until the Rangers players have played in the biggest match of their careers next Wednesday night.
I remember how buzzing I was to make the only major final of my career in 2013 when we played St Mirren in the League Cup Final, so I can only imagine what the Rangers boys are feeling about the prospect of a Europa League Final.
The one thing I’m pretty certain about is that they could see a trip to Tynecastle far enough. In fact, if Hearts and Rangers could get away with it they would probably just scrap the fixture and get on with preparing for the real stuff.
From Hearts’ perspective, everything will now be geared towards Hampden and it would be fabulous for them to rubber stamp a great season by getting their hands on a trophy.
Then Robbie can start thinking about being even better next season.
In fact, he probably already is and I wouldn’t be surprised if part of his planning for the new term involves a phone call to Everton asking for an extension to the loan deal for Ellis Simms, who underlined his value with another great performance and goal against Celtic at the weekend.
I’m sure the Hearts boss would love Simms for another season but they might be the victims of their own success because the striker has done so well up here that I would be shocked if there isn’t a clamour for his loan service from clubs down south.
I can easily see a top-six English Championship club looking at how well he has done, seeing how well he’s handled playing at a big club in high-pressure matches, and fancying him for their own push for promotion.
Hearts’ recruitment has been absolutely top notch but one of the best bits of business they could do would be to try to get the big fella signed up for another season.
They can offer the carrot of European football and hopefully by the time decisions are made, Simms will have a Scottish Cup medal hanging from his neck and perhaps the prospect of more success could persuade him that there is no better place to continue his development.
