Split the Difference
Elvis: We nabbed second with Vlad picking team.. now Hearts have the stability to succeed Joe: Celts fans fear the worst but this is nothing like 90s... they still have a shot at title
THE last time Hearts split the Old Firm, it was achieved against a backdrop of utter chaos.
Steven Pressley reckons that if it were to happen this season, it would be down to the stability and serenity currently embracing the Tynecastle outfit like a long lost friend.
The former Jambos captain admits neither were in existence back in 2005-06 when Vladimir Romanov rode into town and did his best to upset what had become the natural order.
While his Hearts team didn’t win the league, they were runnersup – a point ahead of Rangers – and lifted the Scottish Cup.
Pressley still marvels at that given Hearts played under four different managers that season.
George Burley came in at the start of the season, won eight and drew two of his 10 league games before being sacked while top of the table. John McGlynn took over as caretaker before Graham Rix’s short stint, then Lithuanian Valdas Ivanauskas saw the season out.
Pressley, part of Premier League Brentford’s coaching set-up, said: “Continuity at a club is one of the biggest sources of success and Hearts have some now.
“This is Robbie Neilson’s second season and he’s putting his stamp on the team.
“Back in 2005, we had to learn almost four different styles of play with the different managers.
“It takes time to adapt and change, so it was far from easy.
“There had been murmurs the relationship between George and Vladimir was a little bit sour but nothing suggested to us he would lose his job.
“It was a shock. I remember going into George’s office to be told he had left and on the shelf were the two Manager of the Month awards so far that season.
“I can’t see that happening too often.
“A lot of the players who arrived that summer were recruited by him and many of them were unhappy he’d gone so soon. There was a lot of dissatisfaction in the dressing room.
“I remember Takis Fyssas saying to me before the Dunfermline game, right after George was sacked, ‘My friend, this is all going to end in tears’.”
Despite the Greek defender’s prediction, the season ended in cheers with Pressley securing the Scottish Cup after Hearts beat Gretna on penalties and a spot in the Champions League qualifiers.
Pressley insists that was achieved despite Romanov.
He added: “Without doubt Romanov was interfering in team selection. We had an incident with Andy Webster when Vladimir told Graham not to play him.
“There was no doubt he was pulling strings during his reign.
“And through all this we managed to finish second and win the Cup.
“One thing in our favour was we had a good group of players.
“We were quite an experienced group as well, which helped us adapt and make the best of a difficult situation.
“But it definitely had an effect on us. We won the Scottish Cup but in the last few league games and in the Final, the performance levels reflected the tiredness – mentally – of the group after everything that had gone on.
“We were poor against Gretna. The emotions of the season caught up with us that day.
“I’d never say we’d have won the league that year if George had stayed because Celtic were strong and winning things. It takes a certain mentality to go through the winter months continually winning games, so I wouldn’t say that.
“But if George had remained I believe we’d have certainly run them closer.”
Fast forward 15 years and Hearts’ start to this season has their fans dreaming big.
While Pressley would never suggest the league can be won after eight matches, he believes that, with Hibs starting well too, the title race will be the most competitive in years.
He said: “Robbie will never come out and say this but a top-six finish for Hearts in their first season back would be a very good achievement.
“People will be expecting more than that now and I understand why. But he has given himself a real opportunity.
“The stability and continuity of the core of the group staying from last year, plus some really good additions, has given them a really good foundation.
“I look at Celtic and Rangers and neither of them have been absolutely convincing thus far.
“This could be the most interesting title race for a long, long time.
“It’s fantastic for Scottish football – and Edinburgh – to see both clubs looking so strong.”
THE stadium was crumbling. There were only crumbs left in the biscuit tin and Celtic’s board were doing their best to hide from the bank manager as well as the angry mob at the door.
The Hoops were too busy fighting with themselves to worry about battling to be best of the rest in Scottish football while Rangers were shooting off in to the distance. And Celtic think they have problems now? Joe Miller savoured the sensational high of the Centenary Double in 1988, then had to suffer the years when even second spot was beyond the Parkhead outfit. The former fans’ favourite chuckles when he hears Ian Murray talk about his old side being in the fight for fourth this year. Try being part of it back then. Celtic finished outside the top two in seven of Rangers’ nine titles in a row in the 90s. Not until Tommy Burns got the club going again were they even in the conversation. But Miller doesn’t see a repeat this time out. Ange Postecoglou’s men might be languishing sixth in the table but the clocks have yet to go back and there’s much more to come, while Hearts and Hibs above are playing out their skins to sit where they are. It’s a changed ball game to the struggles his side faced in those days. Miller said: “It was a different world back then. In the last 25 years it has been Celtic and Rangers just about every season but back then there really was a top six. “The likes of Aberdeen, Hearts, maybe Dundee United and Hibs, would all be thinking at the start of the season they could be in with a chance of winning the league. “Aberdeen finished second a good few times at the start of the Rangers run and they nearly won the league at Ibrox one year. The gap between the big two and the rest is much bigger now.
“It’s like they say, ‘If you’re not first in Scotland, you’re last’. It was like, if you didn’t win the league it was a disaster whether you finished second, third, fourth or whatever.
“We won the Centenary Double but the problem we had is we didn’t build from a position of strength.
“A few of the lads were getting older, a few left and those were the days of the old biscuit tin stuff.
“Rangers were spending big but we had problems behind the scenes.
“Celtic Park needed a lot of work, the board were under severe pressure, it was a difficult time.
“I know Celtic fans were not happy last season but it’s nothing like the 90s.
“There is a rebuild needed but the club are in a strong position now. It just might take time.
“It’s not been the best of starts for Celtic but it was always going to be a bumpy ride in the first few months.
“The manager has come in and made a lot of changes. The new players need time. It’s far too early to talk about finishing behind Hearts and Hibs as this Celtic side will get better as it goes along.”
The Edinburgh duo have impressed but it’s not going to be a cruise for the capital clubs.
Miller said: “We’ve seen it before with teams getting off to a good start. It’s a different story when you need to maintain it over the course of a season.
“The Edinburgh sides have started well but they’ve not hit their difficult spells yet. They’ve not had to cope with injuries and suspensions, or maybe a dip in form.
“This season might be too big a step for Celtic in terms of winning the title but I’d still expect them to be ahead of the rest.”