Mackay is all Hearts when it comes down to cup value

IAN PAUL

10 Mar 1994

IF their longest-serving player is right, Hearts fans -- and a few others with an eye for the value bet -- might head for the nearest bookmaker before their team makes the journey across the M8 to Ibrox for the Tennents Scottish Cup quarter-final with Rangers on Saturday.

Gary Mackay, despite the fact that he is unlikely to be selected for the side, describes the mood in Tynecastle these days as "brilliant," the confidence about the visit to Glasgow "high," and assures us all that optimism will take up a few seats on the team bus that leaves the capital.

Should his descriptions lead to the obvious conclusion, Hearts would beat Rangers and become strongly fancied to lift the trophy for the first time in 38 years.

And at 5-1 to overcome the champions, they could represent something to bet on.

Those are the odds according to Glasgow bookie Dave McAllister who also lists Hearts at 16-1 for the trophy.

Anybody who believes that this could turn out to be Hearts' year would be advised to get on before the weekend.

However, not only has Mackay been around the scene long enough to warrant respect but he bases his argument that Hearts could do well on sound logic.

The fact that the best he and two other notables can expect are places on the substitutes' bench is one of the reasons he puts forward for the renewed confidence ground.

"The manager is likely to leave the team alone and that would mean me, John Robertson, and Gary Locke all chasing substitute places." he said.

"If you had said to Hearts fans at the beginning of the season that we would be going to Ibrox with a chance, yet none of the three of us would be in the team, they might have found it hard to believe."

Mackay, who has been at Tynecastle since 1980, pointed out that others who are pushing for places are George Wright and Graeme Hogg, who has returned to full fitness after breaking his leg.

There is another interesting observation made by the midfield man, who has been one of the club's greatest fans as well as one of their most committed players.

"Our confidence has been increasing as we have improved and, while it is a coincidence, a lot of the games we have played in this spell have been away from home."

The evidence supports him.

Hearts have drawn with Motherwell, beaten Aberdeen and Dundee in the league, and in the cup have conquered Partick Thistle and Hibernian, all away from Tynecastle.

If they follow that lot up with a win at Ibrox, where they have already drawn this season, it would continue a remarkable transformation in a club where there was immense pressure on the manager, Sandy Clark, only a couple of months ago.

If Hearts do not fill the betting bill for you, Rangers -- at 4-7 to win on Saturday and 4-5 to lift the trophy again -- may not be an enticing alternative, but there are others.

Dundee United, for instance, are 6-1 to win the cup, but will be a bit less than that if they get past the difficult hurdle at Broomfield where Airdrie will give them a hard afternoon.

United are 11-10 with McAllister to beat the first division side, and it would be Sod's Law if their manager, Ivan Golac, was to take his club all the way to Hampden success in the one trophy his predecessor, Jim McLean, could not collect in 22 years.

Aberdeen, 5-4 to beat St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park, probably will rely on the hero of the night at Motherwell on Tuesday, young goalkeeper Derek Stillie, for the visit to Perth, although the manager Willie Miller is still chasing a replacement for his injured first choice keepers, Theo Snelders and Michael Watt.

"We need someone who is fit, playing, available and prepared to come up here until the end of the season," he said.

"There are not too many players who fit into this category, but I am following a couple of leads."

The manager was delighted with the way Stillie coped in the heat of a fiercely competitive premier-division game at Fir Park, but is still keen to find a more experienced keeper for the tie.

"Derek would not be at this club if we did not think he had ability.

But this is something we would prefer to nurture and develop."

Aberdeen are still second favourites for the cup, at 11-4, while St Johnstone and Dundee rate only 33-1 chances and Airdrie are the 40-1 longest shots.

Taken from the Herald