True test of my boys won’t be at Ibrox or Easter Road but Central Park
THEY’VE beaten Rangers, Hibs and everyone else in a glorious campaign that has seen them streak nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Championship.
They remain the only unbeaten l eague side i n Britain after Chelsea lost to Newcastle last weekend — and with 41 goals to their name have scored more than any other senior side the length and breadth of the UK.
So perhaps it said something about the eye for detail which saw Robbie Neilson win his third Manager of the Month award yesterday that the Hearts head coach has already hatched a cunning plan to ensure his allconquering side aren’t about to come a cropper in Cowdenbeath. Especially with his Ibrox rivals just waiting for any chance to pounce.
A graduate himself of the Central Park finishing school, Neilson knows it’s exactly the kind of ramshackle venue which can take teams used to more sophisticated surroundings by surprise and where the grandest of dreams can come unstuck.
Which is why he took his entire first-team squad there for a preseason friendly. And that 1-0 loss on unfamiliar turf may prove as invaluable as any win the Jambos have racked up since in their dash to the top of the Championship.
The key for Neilson, who took his first steps as a senior footballer on loan at a ground where stock-car racing and car-boot sales count for more than the f ootball, was avoiding the shock that can await visitors to one of the Scottish game’s most uniquely challenging outposts.
‘This is why I took the team there pre- season,’ he explained. ‘ The fixtures were out early and we knew this was coming at this time of the year. I didn’t want the players to turn up and be shocked because it’s the first time they’ve been there. I didn’t want them seeing it and thinking: “Oh, this isn’t what I expected.”
‘You can talk about Central Park all you like. Until you get out there and see the track, see the tyres around the tight pitch, you don’t know what it’s like. So hopefully it won’t come as a shock to us, even if it will be colder, and we can get a result.
‘I came from boys’ club football when I went there, so I was kind of used to it. Anything better than an ash pitch was a step up!
‘I enjoyed my time there. It was my first taste of men’s football — and there was a great group of guys there at the time.
‘Craig Levein was manager and there were three or four who had been at Hearts with me, they’d gone there the previous year, so it was great.
‘It hasn’t changed much since then! But for any young player going on l oan and getting first- team football, the whole experience is great.
‘We’re trying to do the same here, get boys out on loan, because you learn so much from it. We’ve got three boys at Preston, one at East Fife, one at Stirling, one at Stenhousemuir — and we’re going to try to do more of that.
‘However good you are in the youth system it’s not the same as playing first-team football, where a guy’s mortgage — or at least his holiday money — is on the line if you make a mistake.
‘I don’t remember ever being hurried out of the changing rooms to make way for the stock cars — but I do remember being chased because a car-boot sale was on! I don’t know if they’re still doing that in the morning but they used to.
‘I spoke to Jimmy Nicholl in pre-season and he said the crowds they get for the stock cars are phenomenal — and the money they take is great. So it’s good for the club. It can be difficult to fill stadiums these days so, if you can bring in extra money, we should be all for it.
‘ This weekend it’ s about answering the old question: “Aye, how will they handle a game at Cowdenbeath in December?”
‘It’s a real test, a big one in so many ways, entirely different from our game at Tynecastle (a 5-1 win for Hearts in September) where we managed to pass the ball and do well.
‘ This will be a different environment and it can become a battle to win games there. We accept we might have to grind out a win. We will always try to pass it but there are times to change your style a wee bit.’ Yesterday’s Manager of the Month award, Neilson’s third in four months, was another reward for his team extending their unbeaten l eague r un throughout November. The rookie boss, speaking as t he snow swirled around t he cl ub’s Riccarton training base, said: ‘ It’s nice that all the hard work the players are doing is recognised. Every day t hey come in desperate to do well, competing against each other, and that’s great for a manager. I was desperate to get i nto management. I love coaching, love getting out on the training field.
‘You are always trying to improve players, everything we do out on the training pitch is for a reason. Then it’s up to the players to do all the work.
‘I feel fortunate that I got to start in management at a club of this size, with the players here and the fantastic structure already in place.
‘Craig Levein and Ann Budge have been fantastic — and I’ve been lucky enough to bring in Stevie Crawford and Jack Ross. All we can do is work hard. And we do that every day.’
Neilson confirmed he will be in the market for a striker in January, with Osman Sow expected to be out for another five weeks as he recovers from a torn thigh muscle.