Now settled at Millwall, Hackett recalls 'crazy Hearts circus'

Millwall winger Chris Hackett admits the memories of the 'circus' he walked into at Hearts will come flooding back when he lines up against his former club today.

A 20,000 buy from Oxford United, the Englishman was one of an unprecedented 11 signings made by Hearts during the 2006 January transfer window and he was paraded at Tynecastle alongside the likes of Jose Goncalves and Bruno Aguiar and the lesser known Martin Petras and Ludek Straceny.

Hackett made just two appearances before joining Millwall six months later but it was no surprise he failed to shine on the park as the club lurched from one crisis to another off it. His arrival came just months after successful manager George Burley was axed, despite taking Hearts to the SPL summit with eight wins and two draws during his ten league games in charge.

And in what remains one of the most volatile periods of Vladimir Romanov's tenure, Hackett witnessed the sacking of Graham Rix and Andy Webster's fall-out with the banker for refusing to sign a new contract.

Speaking ahead of team-mate Neil Harris' testimonial against Hearts at the New Den, Hackett said: "I was a young boy, I was only 22 at the time and I was going from Oxford to Edinburgh, which is a fantastic city. It was a bit crazy really going from a club that was a lot smaller than Hearts. There was a lot going on around Hearts at the time, it was a bit of a circus really.

"It's a fantastic club and there are some great people there, the fans are awesome but it was just a bit crazy at the time as there was a lot going on.

"It was a good experience for me personally just to move away from home and to get away. Obviously on the pitch it didn't quite happen but there was lots of stuff going on at the time with lots of players, lots of management changes and it was a bit unstable, but it was an experience."

Hearts are contributing to a worthy cause, after Harris battled testicular cancer before returning to Millwall and helping them win promotion to the Championship. The striker has done significant work for the cancer charity Everyman and has been a role model for many in the game.

A spokesman for the charity told The Scotsman: "Neil has supported Everyman since he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, aged 23, in 2001. He has shown remarkable strength and courage in fighting and beating testicular cancer and is a shining example of someone who wasn't going to let the disease stop him from returning to the top of his game.

"His work in raising awareness of testicular cancer has been tireless and his effort over the years has led to a huge increase in the number of men who are more aware of the symptoms."