John McGlynn seeks to lift ‘incredible’ team after Anfield display

ONCE Hearts put the disappointment of European elimination behind them, they will be left with so many positive memories of their two games against Liverpool. The first leg, a 1-0 home defeat thanks to an Andy Webster own goal, was a respectable enough showing.

The return on Thursday night, a 1-1 draw at Anfield, was an inspired and disciplined display which could set the tone for the Tynecastle club’s entire season.

Granted, footballers cannot be humanly expected to perform every week at the level those Hearts players attained against the five-times European champions, but their display was nonetheless evidence of the heights they can reach when they stick to an intelligent and well-conceived game plan.

It took Paulo Sergio some months to get the best out of a squad who were individually more gifted and experienced than the one John McGlynn has now. It has taken the new manager just a few weeks.

If Liverpool fall away this season under their own manager, we may look back on their Europa League tie with Hearts in a dimmer light. But Brendan Rodgers looks and sounds like the real deal, and like McGlynn has quickly come to terms with the resources at his disposal. He showed that much in his team’s previous game, a 2-2 draw with league champions Manchester City.

So for the time being, at the very least, we should regard Hearts’ narrow aggregate defeat in a highly positive manner. It is a sign of how much can be achieved by sound, methodical coaching, and should also serve as inspiration for those other clubs who we can expect to be competing with Hearts for second place behind Celtic.

There are two ways of looking at the SPL this season. One is to regard it as a ragbag of mediocrity in which a bunch of mediocre outfits will trail in some distance behind champions who are themselves well short of their own recent best. The other is to see it as a setting in which a number of coaches and a number of clubs have a chance to make significant progress with relatively umpromising raw material.

Hearts, Dundee United, Motherwell, Aberdeen: none of them are blessed with world-class players, but all of them have good enough squads and sufficiently insightful managers. In a league where just about every team can supposedly beat every other on their day, you do not need to become much more consistent to see a real upturn in results.

And, while Hearts will obviously take most out of their own European games, other Scottish clubs can also take heart from their two games, as McGlynn reflected yesterday in Liverpool, before heading back to Edinburgh with his squad. “Maybe it’s almost harder to take this morning,” he said on being asked to reflect on the previous night’s result. “It was a narrow defeat. But there’s still a lot of pride.

“The players come out of it with massive credit given the effort they put in over two legs. They were incredible and carried a threat in both games.

“We tried to press up the pitch as high as we could and it seemed to work. We’ve restored some pride in Scottish football as well. I’ve had a lot of messages from other teams congratulating us in our performance and for bringing pride back to Scottish football. We’re very pleased about that.

“[Rodgers] was very complimentary towards our players and the way that we played. It wasn’t like we kicked them off the park. We went toe to toe with them. We tried to stop them playing by closing them down quickly and pressing the ball, but we didn’t resort to kicking them.”

It will be another year at least before Hearts play in Europe again, but the experience of playing against a Liverpool team which included Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez should stand McGlynn’s young players in good stead throughout their careers. “It was a massive experience for them and hopefully they can take confidence from it,” the manager added. “You can only learn from sharing a pitch with guys like Suarez and Gerrard and the things they can do. Hopefully the young players will take great heart from operating at this stage.

“They’ve played in a game that was shown worldwide. They have to keep their feet on the ground, but also recognise they’ve played their part in a massive game.”

While in general McGlynn can expect his players to be inspired by their exploits on Merseyside, in the short term he needs to lift them for tomorrow’s SPL game at home to Dundee. He could look to the example of a year ago, when Hearts returned from a highly commendable goalless draw at Tottenham and comfortably beat Hibernian 2-0.

But that match in London followed a 5-0 Tynecastle defeat, so the players’ pride was not tempered by any of the disappointment felt at full-time at Anfield. And Hearts had a larger squad then, which allowed Sergio to ring the changes, whereas McGlynn now has few options to rest those who could be mentally fatigued.

“Last Sunday we found it difficult against Aberdeen, although they played particularly well,” he said of the 0-0 draw at Pittodrie. “There’s no doubt the first game against Liverpool had an effect on our players. History will tell you that teams generally struggle after European ties.

“But the fact that we are at home this weekend should be a big factor. It’s not like travelling up to Aberdeen or staying overnight. The players are at home in their own beds and that should help in their recovery. Hopefully the fans will come out and support us on the back of the two performances against Liverpool.

“Tynecastle can be quiet at times, but on this occasion we hope they really get behind the team and show their appreciation for what they’ve done. It’s really about three points on Sunday. If we can win the game we’ll have only had one defeat in seven games, and that’s a one-goal defeat to Liverpool.”