CUP WIN WOULD BE EVEN BETTER THAN MY TREBLE AGAINST HIBEES

PAUL HARTLEY knows he'll never have a better game in a Hearts jersey than the Scottish Cup semi-final that brought him a hat-trick against Hibs.

But the midfield inspiration from Tynecastle knows it's possible he'll have a better day in their colours tomorrow at Hampden. I Treasured memories of goalscoring achievement against your biggest rivals are one thing, tangible evidence of success in the shape of your first medal from a major competition is something else altogether.

And if Hartley's haul of medals was laid from one end to the other there wouldn't be enough to put a single gong on each lapel of his jacket.

That's why the nature of the Second Division opposition at the National Stadium tomorrow can be downgraded as much as anybody likes, because Hartley is going into this match with the grim determination of a man for whom Gretna represents the biggest challenge of his life.

He said: "I might never better that game against Hibs on a personal level. But winning the Scottish Cup will top everything I've known in the game as a team player. I'm not exactly used to silverware and this would be a marvellous personal achievement for me.

"I did win a First Division championship medal when I was with Hibs but before that was during my boys club days in Lanarkshire."

The most frequently asked question where Hartley is concerned is where this rich seam of form which has made him Hearts' top scorer has come from so late in the career of someone who would have been dismissed as a jobbing professional.

If Hartley knew the answer he would be the first to tell you but the player has no idea and ignorance is bliss while Paul acts like a form of spontaneous combustion in the middle of the park.

He said: "Sometimes it's better not to delve too deeply when you're looking to analyse why a player's form has changed. I can't put a finger on it - and it's me we're talking about!

"All I know for sure is I've got gradually better since joining Hearts and I've started to score goals in vital games.

"My confidence is sky high and maybe that's what gives me the self-belief to try things like the free kick that deceived Hibs' keeper Zibi Malkowski in the semi final."

Think of a big occasion recently that involved Hearts and Hartley's name is indeli-bly marked on it.

Three goals to humiliate Hibs at Hampden. The penalty that provided the only goal of the game to beat Aberdeen and put Hearts into the Champions League qualifiers, a fixture described by some as the most important in the club's history.

All the more remarkable that Hartley should admit he might have had his new lease of life as a central-midfield player before this but was too shy to mention to any of his previous managers that he fancied the role.

He said: "I was with clubs like St Johnstone, Hibs and Motherwell without anything really working out for me.

"But I've always believed the older you get, the better you become in this game. I love it in the middle of the park because you're more involved. I used to go 25 minutes without touching the ball when I was an out-and-out winger. But I was too quiet to tell any of my managers how I felt.

"But everything has fallen into place for me since I went to Tynecastle. I found the right club for me and I discovered my voice as well."

Hartley has now undergone a personality transformation. The one time quiet man is now in your face, gesticulating to rival fans and, in one lapse of professionalism on Ne'er Day, booting Celtic's Ross Wallace up the backside when the frustration of belated defeat became all too much to bear.

He said: "It took Billy Stark, my manager at St Johnstone, to discover the best place for me on the park.

"And I never forget I owe a lot to Craig Levein for bringing me to Tynecastle when some other managers might not have taken that chance. I did have other options but Craig was persistent."

Hartley has a way of with-olding information about himself that would do credit to the Official Secrets Act, so he refused to divulge why other managers would have shied away from him or what alternatives he had to signing for Hearts.

Whatever is the case it was the Jambos' lucky day when Hartley and Hearts entered into a marriage of convenience that has now lasted the test of time and has contained moments of blissful happiness. Now his aim is to do his bit to ensure the team doesn't become divorced from reality at Hampden tomorrow.

The story is supposed to be that the first side since 1995 to come between the Old Firm in the league table meets lower league opposition and then blows them out of the water in the way Hearts' owner Vladimir Romanov was trained to do when he was a submariner in the Russian navy.

The nightmare for Hartley is that the form book is torpedoed and the embarrassment lives with him for the remainder of his career at a club still haunted by blowing a league and cup double in the space of seven days.

He said: "That was in 1986 and the fans still talk about it. I know they're crying out for success and that it's now eight years since Hearts last won the Scottish Cup.

"If we're off the pace at Hampden there is room for a shock.

"Gretna have experience on their side, and proven goalscorers.

"I played with their keeper Alan Main at St Johnstone and I'm friendly with some of the other guys like Steve Tosh and John O'Neill.

"I know their level of professionalism and that's why I appreciate our work rate has got to be spot on. Or else."

Taken from the Daily Record