Self-belief and a little luck can net Hearts title

IAN PAUL

2 Dec 1991

THEY are not the bookies' choice for the premier-division championship, nor would they emerge top of any poll as favourites to succeed, but Hearts continue to provide the proof that they at least believe they can do it, by the effective method of staying up there at the top.

And that is where all their rivals would prefer to be, as one man who knows a thing or two about winning league titles confirmed.

Celtic's Gary Gillespie, formerly of prolific English title-winners, Liverpool, was asked if Celtic were in an ideal striking position, lying in third place.

"We would rather be where Hearts are," he replied.

As the Tynecastle team prepare for the game against Falkirk on Wednesday, when they will reach the halfway point in the race, another man who has the rare experience of winning the title with a team other than the Old Firm, Eamonn Bannon, reasoned that the great prize is within the reach of the challengers from Edinburgh.

Bannon, who was a member of the Dundee United team which lifted the championship in season 1982-83, made his return to the Tynecastle side in their 1-0 win over Airdrie on Saturday after having missed 20 games in succession because of injury.

He is uniquely placed to size up the prospects of Hearts but, while we could hardly expect him to dismiss his current team's chances, the 33-year-old midfielder is much too sensible to make wild forecasts.

He recalls that United's remarkable success, when they used only 12 players all through (a feat that is unlikley to be emulated), was possible because of the great self-discipline of that side, and their good fortune in the injury department.

"Maybe the fact that it was a young team helped in the sense that they were able to shake off injuries quicker, but at Tynecastle we already have come through a tough spell with injury and suspension and are at the top of the league."

His emphasis on Hearts' ability to withstand absenteeism is reasonable enough when the catalogue of names who have been out at one stage or another is listed.

Three players, for example, have not started a game yet.

Neil Berry, Wayne Foster, and Gary Williams have been out with a variety of injuries since the summer.

So, too, has goalkeeper Nicky Walker who almost certainly would have started where he left off as first-team goalkeeper.

Yet his "deputy", Henry Smith, has done so well that he now is rivalling Andy Goram in the Scotland international squad.

Others who have been confined to the stand for different periods are full back Alan McLaren (knee injury), Scott Crabbe (food poisoning), Ian Baird (injury and suspension), and Derek Ferguson (leg injury).

Bannon himself had a cartilage operation followed by a pulled calf muscle and has started only two games, coming on as a substitute in two others.

His belief that the championship will not be settled until the last few games of the season could be coloured by his appraisal of the fixtures which make up Hearts run-in.

They meet St Mirren (h), Dundee United (a), Airdrie (h), and Falkirk (h), a programme which may be less demanding than that of some of their rivals.

That final match against Falkirk may be trickier than it appears as Aberdeen discovered on Saturday when they managed only a draw against the Brockville side at Pittodrie.

Taken from the Herald