There is one man at Hampden Park today of whom every other manager in Scotland will be simply green with envy And it is not Martin O'Neill. And it is not Martin O'Neill. David Hay has what they all crave A trophy in the cabinet. While O'Neill and Celtic are in pursuit of richer rewards, notably the Uefa Cup, their adversary in the Scottish Cup semi-final has already paraded one piece of silverware.Livingston's success in last month's CIS Insurance Cup final gave Scotland's youngest top-flight club their first-ever honour and put a trophy back in Hay's hands two decades after he was doing the same for Celtic. At 55, he seems to have been around for ever - but that is what happens when you peak early."The older you get, the more you appreciate things," he says.

"This meant more to me than anything I won with Celtic simply because of the size of Livingston. We are not supposed to win trophies." Hay is only three years older than O'Neill but seems a different generation. He was playing in a European Cup final for Celtic at 21 and was the club's youngest-ever manager at 34.Hay's love for the club ensured that he was in Seville last May for the Uefa Cup final, and his thoughts will be in Spain again on Wednesday when Celtic try to overcome Villarreal after Thursday's 1-1 draw in the quarter-final first leg. However, after a week in which nothing went to script in the European arena, there must be a nagging doubt in O'Neill's mind about an upset at Hampden.If Livingston are not quite Deportivo La Coru?their most potent player definitely is.

David Fernandez spent five seasons at the Riazor and is still on a high after watching his home-town club knock Milan out of the Champions' League. But the gifted forward will not be able to tap into that spirit today.Fernandez is on loan to Livingston from Celtic. He returned last August, frustrated at being down the queue of strikers after his £1.2m transfer in 2002. However, while O'Neill allowed Fernandez to play in the previous rounds of the Scottish Cup for Living-ston, he will not this time.Hay empathises. "The moment I saw that Fernando Morientes had scored for Monaco against Real Madrid in midweek I smiled, because I knew Martin would say, 'I told you so' I think it's correct that we don't play David.