Hearts manager John McGlynn is enthused by the spirit of ’62

EVERYONE knows that it is 111 years since Hibernian won the Scottish Cup. Not so many are familiar with Hearts’ wait of more than half a century for success in the country’s other major knockout trophy. If the Tynecastle club can lift the Scottish Communities League Cup this season, it will be the first time they have done so since 1962.

John McGlynn, their manager, will have that in mind when he leads his team out against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in Saturday’s semi-final at Easter Road. While some deride it as a competition that has seen better days, McGlynn identified it as one of his priorities when he replaced Paulo Sergio last summer.

“It’s very, very important,” he says. “We knew it was 50 years since Hearts had won the League Cup so it was one of the targets we set ourselves when I came in. We are pleased to be in the semi-final where we still have a ticket for the raffle. We are still in it. There are only four tickets and we’ve got one of them. We’re in there fighting.”

When Hearts last won the competition, it was Norrie Davidson’s goal that saw off Kilmarnock at Hampden. Since then, they have been in the final only once, losing 4-3 to Rangers at Celtic Park in 1996. In the last 17 years, they have been to five League Cup semi-finals – two at Hampden, one at Fir Park, two at Easter Road – and lost the lot.

So to reach the final would be an achievement in itself, especially in the context of their financial problems. Still short of the £1.8 million they said they needed to raise if they were to survive beyond the end of the season, Hearts would like nothing better than to hoover up the takings from a Hampden showdown with Celtic or St Mirren.

“There’s a motivation for the players to get back to Hampden from a professional point of view,” says McGlynn. “Even from my own point of view, it would be great to lead out a team in a Scottish League Cup final at Hampden. But from the football club’s point of view, we are struggling financially. We are not out of the woods yet. The money side of it is massive.”

Supporters stumped up £1.1m through a share issue. The sale of Ryan McGowan brought in another £400,000. McGlynn agrees that, if those figures are correct, it seems likely that a win against Inverness would secure Hearts’ short-term future. “I’m not a financial director. But putting two and two together, you probably wouldn’t be a million miles away.”

Not that anything should be taken for granted against an Inverness side who have exceeded all expectations this season. Terry Butcher’s side are well ahead of Hearts in the SPL, and will fancy their chances against a team missing both Ryan Stevenson and Darren Barr through suspension. Hearts, though, have been buoyed by the signing off Danny Wilson on loan from Liverpool until the end of the season.

“It’s maybe not what people thought would be a semi-final tie at the start of the season, but they [Inverness] have certainly been the surprise package of the season,” says McGlynn. “Terry’s got to be up there for manager of the season already.”

McGlynn admires the way Butcher has reconstructed his team, as well as his ability to identify young talent south of the Border. He says that the Englishman’s work can be an inspiration to Hearts, who find themselves scouring the same market in search of under-21 players, the only signings they can make under SPL restrictions.

“There have been a number of players that he has plucked from the lower divisions in England,” says McGlynn. “They have come up here, made a name for themselves, moved on, and he has had to go and rebuild again.

“His budget is one of the smallest in the SPL because their fan base is not massive. It’s probably not a perfect location in some respects. So for him to get players up there to do the job they are doing is fantastic.”

The venue for the semi-final is handy for Hearts, and for their supporters, who are expected to take advantage of a favourable pricing policy by the Scottish Football League. Even if Easter Road is not sold out, the two sets of supporters will produce a better atmosphere than would have been possible at Hampden.

“Hopefully, there’s a big crowd,” says McGlynn. “People get paid early at Christmas time so it’s probably five weeks since they had a wage. It’s been correctly priced at £15 and £5. That’s good from the SFL. Having 20,000 inside Hampden wouldn’t have been great, but if we can fill Easter Road, that would be perfect.”