Aussie rules for Ryan McGowan

THERE is no such thing as half measures for Ryan McGowan. With his trademark enthusiasm and commitment to a cause, he says if he wasn’t involved in the Australia squad to face Scotland on Wednesday, he would have been in the crowd and there would have been no doubt about who he was supporting.

“I would have had my Australia top on and my blown-up kangaroo and my big green and yellow afro! I wouldn’t have been going there in a kilt anyway,” he says.

The Scotland manager, Craig Levein, has admitted he is one who was on the verge of a call-up to the national squad but the Hearts youngster, whose parents, Jamie and Theresa, are both Scottish, has made it clear his loyalties lie elsewhere.

“I have always said Australia is the country I want to play for. It was where I was born and raised,” McGowan adds. “I think the fact I have come over to Scotland and played here has kicked up the chat about the possibility of a Scotland call-up. But, I have played at every age level for them and I would much rather go to a World Cup with them than Scotland.

“Say there’s a boy like Temps [Hearts team-mate David Templeton] in the squad. He would be much more honoured than I would. I’m not saying I wouldn’t be honoured, but my biggest honour would be to play for Australia, not Scotland.”

McGowan continues: “I am proud of my Scottish background, and with both my parents and all of my aunts and uncles coming from here it is a big part of me. It has been a big part of my footballing life as well having come over here when I was 16. So it’s funny how things work out that this could be my first game.”

What’s not so strange is that Easter Road could play host to such a key football moment for McGowan.

“Every time I have been involved there it has been a big occasion, so in that respect I always look forward to going there,” he says. “I scored my first senior goal, I made my first appearance after coming back on loan under Jim Jefferies there. I went to my first derby as a fan there and it could be my first senior call-up for Australia.”

Going to the home of your greatest rivals is not supposed to feel so welcoming, but Hibs have done little to crank up the intimidation factor in recent years. They have not defeated their Tynecastle rivals in 11 games (five of those in Leith), and in the three league head to heads last term, Hearts netted seven goals and conceded just one. But nothing tops their most recent meeting, says McGowan. That was the 5-1 Scottish Cup triumph.

“I don’t think words can describe how well it went,” says McGowan. “We all spoke about it before the game. It was more important winning but I think the style we did it in and the whole reaction after the game was beyond everyone’s wildest dreams. It’s something that the squad that was involved with it last season will probably remember for the rest of their lives.”

Given recent history there could be a dose of complacency, which allied with a need for the Hibs squad to atone for the summer of misery endured by their fans, could favour Hibs. But McGowan is confident that won’t be an issue.

“Everyone knows it is a big game for us. We are not too worried about how they are feeling or what they are doing. It was a great result in the Cup final but this is the league now and it is a different game now and we want to win.”

It would allow the Hearts team to build on a bright start to the campaign. New manager John McGlynn has been forced to go with a younger team, rendering McGowan one of the more experienced players, but they have quite rightly been buoyed by their first league outing and with a Europa League qualifying tie against Liverpool on the horizon, the mood at the club is cautiously ebullient. “We knew the teams we could get and Liverpool, with the stature it has, is a great opportunity for us,” says McGowan.

The first leg of the tie is at Tynecastle on 23 August, the return leg a week later. “Harry Kewell was a massive player in Australia – he still is – and when I was growing up, about 13 or 14 years old and right into my football, he got his move to Liverpool and that meant a lot of Australians were drawn to the club and a lot of my mates are Liverpool fans. I have already heard from a lot of people back home saying how lucky we are that we get to play Liverpool. It’s not every day you get drawn against a club like Liverpool and everyone is looking forward to it.

“It’s a bit similar to last year, when we got Tottenham. Last year we lost at home but did a bit better down there and although we have a lot of younger players in the squad this season, there are still a few players who were involved in those games last season. We will be looking to put on a better performance at home, against Liverpool. The thing about football is that no one really knows what will happen. It is 11 v 11 and they might have massive household superstars, but on the night we will give them as good a game as we can.”