Broxburn boss Steve Hislop missed one huge shock but is plotting another

When Inverness Caledonian Thistle beat Martin O’Neill’s Celtic in 2003, he was sitting in the stand due to being cup-tied with previous club Ross County. It meant also missing out on the semi-final clash with Dundee. Manager John Robertson was adamant he should remain part of the squad for the Hampden trip.

“It was the hardest thing ever,” recalls Hislop. “We stayed over the night before but I did not want to be there. The players were all buzzing. It was a selfish thing. I was like: ‘how lucky are these guys?’”

Fortunately, Inverness made it to the same stage the following year. Hislop came on in the 1-1 draw against Dunfermline at Hampden and hit the bar in the replay at Pittodrie, which Inverness lost 3-2.

He said it already felt like he had scored the winning goal to lift the cup at Hampden. On Christmas Day the previous year he was driving back to the Highlands ahead of his then side Ross County’s Boxing Day fixture.

His phone rang. It was his childhood hero offering him the chance to sign for local rivals Inverness. Hislop had grown up a Hearts fan in the period when Robertson was scoring most weeks for the Tynecastle club. It got to the stage where he could not stop playing for clubs under  Robertson – they reunited at Livingston and also East Fife. “He became a bit of a pest  actually,” he laughs.

Hislop, now 41, admits this is what he has become to the players he trains at Broxburn Athletic, who face Premiership side St Mirren at the Simple Digital Arena in a Scottish Cup fourth round tie this afternoon. As former Hearts player Brian McNaughton’s assistant, Hislop is quick to brand himself the bad cop in a reversal of the usual scenario, where the No 2 is normally the conduit between the players and manager.

“That’s only because I take training and I can see the effort, or lack of it,” he says. “It pays dividends to work hard. We had a shocking disciplinary record when I came in two years ago but have only had one red card since.

“I am not here to make friends, I have my own friends,” he adds. “I am here to make players better. Has the club improved? Yes. Is it all down to me, no. But me and Brian work well together.”

Hislop got cranky when a media night interrupted his team’s training session on Monday in the unlikely surroundings of Clifton Hall prep school outside Edinburgh. Wednesday night’s session was better. However, it concerns him that this was the last time he and McNaughton were able to work with the players prior to today.

“St Mirren will be doing double sessions every day,” he says. “That’s the difference between part-time and full-time players.” Another difference is over 50 league places separating  St Mirren and Broxburn Athletic, who operate in the East of Scotland Premier Division and are currently sixth.

Dedication is what has allowed Hislop to build a second career as a successful optician. He has operated from his practice in Marchmont in Edinburgh for over a decade now. He studied accounts at Heriot Watt but did not attend his graduation ceremony because he was playing for East Stirlingshire. He was a late starter in football, but made the most of himself, scoring in all four top leagues in Scotland.

He urges those who feel their chance has gone to refocus. “That’s what I say to the players, you never know who is watching, give it your all,” he says. “I got picked up late and had the season of my life at East Stirling and got to Ross County and did well there, too.” He has no regrets but was badly served by serious injuries at critical times. There was also a “horrific” move to Gillingham from Inverness.

“The late Neale Cooper was manager, bless his soul,” he says. “He got the sack three or four weeks later, and everyone he signed was put on the transfer list.”

Inverness was his defining chapter, alongside the likes of Bobby Mann, Barry Wilson and David Bingham, who he describes as the most talented player he played with. They later combined as the management team at Whitehill  Welfare.

As for today’s game, he says: “I think if we were to beat St Mirren it will go down as the biggest upset in Scottish Cup history.

“You can take away your Berwick Rangers v Rangers and Hamilton Accies v Rangers – we are six divisions apart and however many places. This will go down in history. But it will take something very special to win. They are near the bottom of the league, but they have improved in the last month or so. We will give it  our best.”