Stephen Robinson has kicked off the Cup Final mind games by praising Craig Thomson and defending Ryan Bowman.
Thomson will referee Sunday’s match between Celtic and Motherwell with all eyes on the physical approach of the former Gateshead striker.
Bowman somehow escaped punishment from the SFA Compliance Officer for elbowing Fabio Cardoso during the semi-final win over Sevco last month and has previous for a brutal knee high attack on Kieran Tierney.
Motherwell’s aggressive game sees them play to the limits of the game- a point that was commented on by Brendan Rodgers after Sunday’s finalists became known.
“Craig Thomson is a good referee and I’ve got total respect for him,” Robinson told The Sun. “I don’t think he will be influenced by what others say.
“Since all of the comments have been made, there have been players who have gone down extremely easily. It’s not something you want to see creep into the game but what I will say is referees here, including Craig Thomson, have integrity and everything with their decision-making is honest.
“I’m just hoping on the day we are treated fairly. I’m sure he and his officials will do their due diligence and homework. I hope he’s not going to be swayed by what anyone else is saying.
“We are a team who play to our strengths. We play within the rules and the laws of the game.
“We didn’t make anything out of what happened with Louis Moult. We’re just a team who get on with it and deal with things.
“Ryan Bowman was at the centre of it in the semi-final win over Rangers but he’s had only nine bookings in five seasons. That doesn’t suggest he’s a dirty player to me.”
Motherwell have a free week to prepare for Hampden which kicks off a mini serious of three consecutive matches against Celtic.
After Hampden the two clubs meet at Fir Park a week on Wednesday then clash at Celtic Park three days later with both matches coming in the SPFL Premiership.