Hearts defender Dylan McGowan knows he's a main man at Tynecastle after swapping No.74 shirt for No.5

Gordon Waddell

30 Jun 2013 08:52

THE Australian player insists the mood among the stripped-back Jambos squad remains positive and that they are ready to fight for the club's SPL survival.
Dylan McGowan is determined to help Hearts overcome their 15 point penalty deduction Dylan McGowan is determined to help Hearts overcome their 15 point penalty deduction

DYLAN McGowan thought his number was up for Hearts the day he was handed a shirt with 74 on it and had to change behind a washing machine.

Five years on, he's wearing No5. What was once a full-blown battalion is now simply a band of brothers.

And the 21-year-old wouldn't have it any other way.

McGowan turned up at Tynecastle to join big brother Ryan in 2008 as the excesses of the Romanov empire hit their peak, with so many bodies in the squad there was no space left in the dressing rooms.

Now they're down to the bare bones as administration takes its toll on the stricken Gorgie side, with a handful of senior players and a raft of rookies left holding the fort and facing a battle against all the odds to escape relegation from day one onwards.

The way McGowan sees it, though, it give those left their cause, and it's one their tight-knit cluster of kids will rally around.

The eloquent Aussie walked in to speak sporting his new number and laughed: "Yeah, I took Darren Barr's - if I was still No19 given how few of us are left I'd be a little worried, to be honest!

"I've still got 19 on the flip flops, mind you, but times are tough, they haven't been changed yet!

"When I first signed I was No74 and my clothes were kept behind the washing machine because there was no space for them. That gives you a bit of insight into how the club has changed. That was five years ago.

"The young boys are coming in now and getting numbers in the 20s – it took me years to get down that low!

"But it's a great time to be a young player here, a huge chance for you, especially at a club this size. To be able to come in and be maybe a couple of good performances in the under-20s or in training away from getting a spot on the bench is unbelievable.

"All the older boys, the Hammills, Stevensons, MacDonalds, they're making it clear to people how big this club is and what a chance it is to play for them.

"So the young guys who're coming in, all you can say to them is take your chance with both hands and your career will only go up the way from here."

McGowan holds no grudges that he had to get where he is the hard way though. The work ethic he brought with him from down under demanded it.

He said: "I think I was sixth choice centre back for the under 19s, so I was under no illusions about how hard it would be to play in the first team.

"I think I appreciate it so much more than if I'd come in at No25 and walked straight in to the squad on a matchday. I was here four years before I even got to train with the first team.

"Now I think I might be the only foreign player here, only one from outwith Scotland and England anyway.

But we've all been together for two or three years, and the younger boys who've come through like Jason Holt and Jamie Walker, we've been playing together for up to five years. We know each other inside out and that can only help us in the season ahead."

You get the impression the players will be feeding off the defiance of the fans in the weeks to come, and they want to create a situation where it's vice versa.

He admitted: "Inside our changing rooms, you'll only hear the positives. We don't come in and say "ah, we're 15 points down already", we talk about the fact that every game will mean something. As a player you want to go out and HAVE to win, you want to HAVE to perform and play well. That's what you live for.

"We'll be sold out most games – the fans have been unbelievable, buying season tickets. They did it in November and they've been asked to do it again yet you haven't heard them blaming anyone else for the situation we're in.

"They've stuck together and now we've got to stick together as a unit and hopefully come out of it at the other end."

For a 21-year-old, McGowan has an incredibly level head on his shoulders. He knows he's only in control of a ball, not a bank balance, so he doesn't sweat things he can't affect.

Not that knowing it made it any easier to hear.

He said: "I was in Australia when it happened. And obviously you wonder what it actually means.

"Does it mean you're away? The guy who sits at the locker next to you? Is the coach going to change? You have no idea, the actual terms. Everyone hears the word administration without knowing what cuts are coming.

"That was more scary than anything.

"We knew we were sort of in trouble but as a player you never get told how much. We're sheltered from a lot of it.

"We don't know the full story, we just get told to go out and play and that's probably best for us. If we have all that on our shoulders, it wouldn't be great for us, so we just focus on the football.

"What we do know is that a lot of good workers who've been with this club a long time have lost their jobs – that's the saddest thing about it.

"Players will find another club but it's the staff you feel for.

"Once you realize you're still here, though, and then you see what the fans are doing, this club is going to be around for a while."

Whether they'll be around in the top division with a 15 point penalty to overcome and a transfer embargo in place is up for more debate.

He shrugged: "It's a massive ask, but I wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't think we could do it.

"A lot of players could have said they wanted to try their luck elsewhere and the club would have been happy to get you off the wage bill, but that's not for me.

"I don't think anyone in that changing room would want it any other way."

Taken from the Daily Record