Neilson thought rival would be his Hearts successor

ROBBIE NEILSON saw Jack Ross as the heir apparent to the Hearts hot- seat. Instead, his former colleague will be in the opposition dugout when the Jambos face Hibernian at Hampden tomorrow.

It is just one of several layers of coincidence and intrigue as the Edinburgh rivals collide, battling for a place in December’s Scottish Cup final.

Neilson, the Hearts head coach, was in his first spell as Tynecastle boss when he appointed Ross as the club’s Under- 20 manager in 2014.

Under the scheme outlined by former director of football Craig Levein, the plan was to create a conveyor belt of coaches. Ross would step up to the top job when

Neilson ultimately departed. However, by the time Neilson joined MK Dons in late 2016, Ross had already left the club to make his way in management with Alloa and St Mirren.

Nevertheless, he retains a healthy respect for his opposite number’s coaching ability and expects a stern test.

“I did a bit of work with Jack when he was at Dumbarton,” recalled Neilson. “So when we were looking to bring someone in to take the 20s, I was the one that brought him in.

“We had a very successful period when Jack was here.

“It’s funny how football works out that he would be at Hibs now. He left here and did well and managed to get himself in at Hibs but, from our perspective, we have to go and beat his team.

This is an opportunity for the players to pit themselves against a team who are at the top end of the top flight.

“From my perspective, I think it’ll be a better game for us than a number of the Championship games will be, because it will be a bit more open and involve two teams who are evenly matched and will have a pop at each other.”