Hearts' Liam Boyce: If I had one leg I’d still want to play against Rangers in final

It was only 12 minutes into last weekend’s match with Rangers that Hearts striker Liam Boyce was forced to make his exit as a groin twinge offered cause for concern.
Liam Boyce is forced off injured in Hearts' final game of the season against Rangers.Liam Boyce is forced off injured in Hearts' final game of the season against Rangers.
Liam Boyce is forced off injured in Hearts' final game of the season against Rangers.

A disappointing early loss in any game, but in the wider context of what is to come this Saturday, it was a mournful procession from pitch to dug-out.

The club’s top goalscorer, with 16 goals this season, the Northern Irishman has been a key component in Hearts securing their third place league finish and subsequent European qualification. He has played his part in the march towards another Scottish Cup final – the club’s third in four seasons.

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And, as he gingerly made for the sidelines, in that league encounter, he was not the only person in Tynecastle fearing that the team would have to do without him at Hampden this weekend.

“Obviously, what happened gave me a bit of a fright. It was sore and I did think ‘oh no’ but since then it’s been getting better and better so I’m a lot more positive now.

‘When I went into the dressing room I was gutted. I just wanted to give myself a chance.

“But, by Saturday night I was walking a bit better. I’d a massive strapping on it. I’m just buzzing that it wasn’t as bad as first thought.

“It’s just a bit of tightness now.”

The 31-year-old sat out Tuesday’s bounce game, which was arranged to give others in the Hearts squad some much-needed action on the road back from injury, and while Boyce says he would play “even if he had one leg”, he says the team has to come before personal desire, which is why he has had to be more sensible in easing his body through the week.

“You don’t want to go into a game without training all week so it’s more of a balancing act in terms of finding out what I can do as soon as possible and build it up so I’m ready to go.”

There were many in the stands who questioned the decision to even field Boyce in that final match of the Premiership campaign. Wrapping him in cotton wool was a viable option but with confidence and momentum also important to players, especially in the build up to key fixtures, there was good reason to take the risk they did.

“I want to play in every game. I’m obviously a bit older now. When I was a kid I’d want to play football every day. I still want to do that now. I love football so I’ll always want to play any time I can.

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“When there’s such a big game coming up, you don’t want to risk it but if you are on a good run of form – or even if you’re not – you need to play.

“There’s no regrets that I played on Saturday. I wanted to play and I did.”And, he has a similar mindset heading into the final as he nurses the groin complaint.

“If I had one leg I’d still want to play in the final. Obviously, the team comes first and if I wasn’t 100 per cent and someone else was coming in would give us a better chance of winning, that would be a different story.

“I’d happily say ‘no problem’ if that gave us the best chance of winning.”

Taking it day by day, he is positive that he can play his part in what he hopes will be a positive experience at the national stadium.

‘I’ll tell them how it is and how it feels. If they ask me if I’m available to play I’ll say yes. I want to play. But it’s the gaffer’s decision - he’ll decide what’s best for the team and whatever that is we’ll all agree on it.”

Coming so close in 2020, when they pushed Celtic all the way to penalties, after a Boyce goal kickstarted a comeback, there is a determination to see things through this time and a belief that they have the squad who can do that.

“This is completely different. Even the atmosphere that day … there was no-one in the stadium.

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“The build-up was brilliant but then you got to the stadium and it didn’t really feel like a Scottish Cup final. It was a bit subdued.

“Obviously, the way we lost was gutting at the time. But this time there’s going to be 50,000 people watching and the atmosphere is going to be brilliant.

“These are the games you always look forward to and you always want to be a part of. You don’t know how often you are going to have them in your career so you need to be ready to go.”

A cup winner already, having won the League Cup while at Ross County, Boyce knows what that means.

“Just to be a part of it puts you down in history. You won something. At the end of your career you want to look back and go ‘I won this and that’. That’s everyone’s aim.

“It was the [Hearts] player of the year awards last week and the 2012 [Scottish Cup] team was inducted into the Hall of Fame. That just goes to show how big this chance that we’ve got is and how important it is to the fans and the club to be winning trophies.

“That team are looked at as legends and rightly so. They beat Hibs 5-1 which is obviously a massive result. That’s something you want in your career.”

Defeating Hibs in this season’s semi-final was notable but Boyce knows that achievement would be deemed all the more significant if it proved to be part of a cup winning run.

“You want to be going back once you are retired and to be getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. That’s something you want to achieve. That is something you would be able to tell your kids.”