Spartans prepare for dream Hearts tie - 'the Hibs ones said we should paint the changing room green!'

Flurry of activity to get set for Saturday’s Scottish Cup clash, but Ainslie Park club wouldn’t have it any other way

Spartans fans watch on from the stands during the League Two defeat to Stenhousemuir at Ainslie Park on Saturday - one week ahead of hosting Hearts in the Scottish Cup. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

It’s an ordinary Tuesday night. The rain is falling but under the floodlights Spartans first team are being put through their paces ahead of a bounce game against the U-20s, while on the adjoining pitch, one swathe of youth players have wrapped up training and, following a swift changeover, the next are going through their drills.

The only thing that stands out this evening is the army of temporary TV gantries which flank the pitch, erected by the BBC ahead of the upcoming Scottish Cup match against Hearts.

But, if it is business as usual outside, inside there is a flurry of activity. Chairman Craig Graham is buzzing about, checking in with the club’s child protection officer Gordon Hulse and matchday announcer Kyle Pattereson, who have been responsible for organising and distributing tickets for the January 20 cup tie.

Tickets for the big Scottish Cup Game against Hearts are being allocated. Gordon Hulse, Child Wellbeing and Protection Officer, and Klye Patterson Match Day Announcer (right) at work on the tickets. Pic: Scott Louden

It has been no easy feat thanks to a 3500 capacity and a demand that outstrips that many times over.

“It has been a lot of work. Hours, days,” says Patterson, as the pair work their way through boxes of match briefs. “Ticket requests from as far away as Croatia, down south, but we always go back to making sure that we look after the Spartans family and the local community. That is the most important thing for us.

“Craig’s overriding point from the start was let’s make sure that those who contribute are included. So, we had no public sale for the Spartans tickets,” adds Hulse, who reveals he won’t properly relax until everyone is inside the ground come kick-off on Saturday. “We just opened it up to various groups, like season ticket holders, shareholders, players, coaches, and the youth section got 600 tickets as well but they could have sold out our whole allocation themselves. It is going well but it is very much a manual process. We are doing it from scratch and hope this will be a template for the next round! It is more work for us but we knew what we were signing up for.”

The effort behind the scenes is mammoth but there was never any thought of moving the tie away from Ainslie Park. This is a club that has worked too hard for too long to earn their place. And, having worked their magic with marquees and portacabins at their previous City Park ground, where they hosted the likes of Livingston and St Mirren, they now have a ground capable and worthy of high-end fixtures.

Naomi Hume, Assistant Operations Manager at The Spartans, has been helping out at the club since she was a child. Pic: Scott Louden

Even if the permanent media tower which looms over the two dugouts is deemed insufficient for a game that will be beamed across the UK on TV and the world online.

“There’s going to be 13 cameras – five more than we would usually have with BBC Scotland or Alba – and 40 BBC staff on site on the day,” reveals Graham, who has been juggling preparations for arguably the biggest – but not the most important – competitive game in the club’s history, with interviews for a new women’s head coach, thinning out applicants for the vacant commercial manager position and January transfer business. It adds up to 12 hour days, seven days a week. Not that Graham would ever make it all about him. No-one at this club does. Everyone is grafting for everyone else. Depending on who is talking, it is for the fans, for the community, the players, the gaffer, the chairman, the people who work at the club or the youngsters who aspire to rise through the ranks.

Assistant operations manager Naomi Hume is a shining example of that. Someone who used to pop along early for games at City Park as a kid to help hang the perimeter advertising boards, she became a regular at Ainslie Park, playing football and volunteering, before being taken on as staff. Now she is worrying about pie orders and ensuring she sources enough plates for the 110 people who have bought hospitality packages for the big day.

“It will be the first time we have sold out a match like this. We sold out Man United and Liverpool friendlies but this is different.”

The Spartans players take part in a training session as build-up continues ahead of the Scottish Cup visit of Hearts. Pic: Scott Louden

Different in the fact that they have been told they need to have a plumber and electrician on standby to deal with toilets and floodlights. They have also sourced ground covers to combat the predicted cold weather and enough salt to prepare the ground and offer the game the best chance of beating adverse conditions.

“I am looking forward to it. It will be an interesting day. It will be great for the players as well. There are a few Hearts and Hibs fans in there. Some of the Hibs ones said we should paint the away changing room green!”

They won’t be doing that but Hume says the facilities are getting a wee lick of paint. Just like when royalty visit? “Well, we did have Prince William here last year,” she laughs.

“Hopefully the lads can put on a good show. I know they are looking forward to it. But a quarter past 12 kick off is harsh on us. I think we are all having to be down here at 6.30am. So, please, no extra time, it’s going to be a long enough day!”

Spartans new signing, former Hibsand St Johnstone left-back Callum Booth, receives treatment from club physio Craig Samuel.

She says that but if it means seeing the club progress she, like everyone else at Spartans, would go the extra mile or extra half an hour or so.

“When we got promoted I didn't think I’d cry but I was greetin’ my eyes out,” she admits. “So I know it will be hard work but I’m looking forward to this. It’s going to be a great day for the club and a wee upset would be even better,” she ventures tentatively.

But this club is all about dreaming big. While they made their name with some impressive Scottish Cup showings, they were also major players in the introduction of the pyramid system, which allows non-league clubs to strive for a place in the SPFL. And, after years of trying they came through the play-offs last term and have made a solid start to life in League Two.

“Nothing will ever be that big,” said manager Dougie Samuel. “But I think the timing of this is almost perfect. It feels like a reward for a lot of hard work over a long period of time.

“The players have earned that for what they have done on the pitch over the last year to 18 months. There have been so many games where they knew what was on the line and they embraced that responsibility and they wanted to be the players that delivered the holy grail.

“Now, going out there against Hearts is going to be amazing. It’s a historic occasion for the football club. It’s going to be a full house, we’re going to be live on national television, it's a day to be enjoyed and celebrated and not one to be weighed down by worry or fear over what the result will be.

Spartans manager Dougie Samuel is preparing for his biggest match in charge of the Ainslie Park club - but not the most important. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

“I’m pretty sure the club will do itself proud off the park and we’ve got to make sure we do the same on the park and give it our best shot.”

Their chances have been aided by the signing of former Hibs and St Johnstone left back Callum Booth, while up top they have Blair Henderson, their own Lawrence Shankland and a striker who is in rich scoring form.

“I can't take any credit for getting us here, the boys have got us through the previous two rounds,” stresses Booth, the man who won the League Cup and Scottish Cup double in 2021 with St Johnstone. “But these are the games you want to be involved in. Hearts are huge favourites but every year strange things happen in the cup. In my debut for Hibs we were away down to Ayr and we got beat. So there is always that chance of an upset.”

Those Hibs connections could make life interesting in the close confines of Ainslie Park on Saturday. “I'm sure there will be a few funny shouts, no doubt. But my last derby was about eight years ago so I'm not sure they’ll remember me. It’s not like I'm someone like Leigh Griffiths who they would be gunning for.”

With Scott Brown and Marc McNulty joining the squad for training sessions this season (Brown’s kids are part of the youth section, while McNulty is Samuel’s daughter’s partner) there has been no shortage of Hibs influence on the team. But Henderson, who is vying for top scorer in League Two doesn’t care who the opposition is. The 29-year-old accountant proved himself a man for the big occasion as he netted important goals in the last season’s play-off matches, before opening his account this term with the winner against Dundee United in the Viaplay Cup.

“I’m a Hibs fan so I would definitely love to score against Hearts but if it was Hibs we were playing it would be the same, I always want to get on the scoresheet.”

Having played against Rangers and Hibs with former clubs, he says this is the next biggie to tick off his list. Aware that chances will be few and far between he stresses any success they get always comes as a team.

“We are scoring a lot of goals and we are defending better. We had a bit of a sticky spell at the start when we were maybe losing goals but we have worked on it and that’s four clean sheets in a row now [in a five-game unbeaten run]. We are working on both sides of the game and it seems to be coming together.”

Defeat to League Two leaders Stenhousemuir on Saturday ended the side’s five game winning streak, but, in the first season in the division they remain third in the table, with games in hand on the teams around them.

If there is a green tinge to some of the squad allegiances, others are more aligned to their Gorgie rivals. Based in the capital, it is the same story when it comes to the staff and the support. But the sense of community at Spartans has an extremely strong pull.

“It’s so exciting but it is a weird one because I love Spartans but I’m a Hearts fan,” admits long-time Spartans Community Foundation youth work manager and Hearts regular Kenny Cameron. “I’ve thought about it, though, and the way I look at it, if I was on the pitch playing for Spartans then I would be giving everything to win the game, we all would, so for 90 minutes I want Spartans to win. I just know what it would mean to so many people here and they deserve it.”

That now includes a once rag-tag bunch of local kids who have coordinated their efforts to become the enthusiastic Spartans Ultras and like most things at the club, staff have found a way to help them channel those efforts positively.

“They just want to support their local team and bring noise and colour,” explains Cameron. “They want it to be an interactive experience and to show that young people can be valuable to clubs and the players love it. It has gone from three kids and a drum to about 100 of them on Saturday.

“They are doing a new tifo [one of their previous efforts came second in the top five tifos of the world on Copa Italia’s instagram] and even that is brilliant because they design it themselves, pull it together, raise funds for materials, and they have songs about the players.”

Hoping to have a piper at Saturday’s game, they have also requested the tune A Child’s Dream. “What kid doesn’t grow up dreaming about playing in the Scottish Cup and at Spartans we always tell them to dream big so it all ties in with that,” says Cameron.

Big dreams and a lot of hard work have gone into getting Spartans to where they are today and according to those involved in every area of the club, on and off the park, there is no sign of them limiting their ambitions any time soon.