Scottish Daily Mail

He didn’t play the game, but Ian has a swagger about him

SAYS PERRY KITCHEN

- JOHN GREECHAN

NOT everything Perry Kitchen says converts perfectly into the local dialect. When he talks about the Hearts ‘front office’, for instance, the American internatio­nal is referring to those who make the big decisions at the club. Not a wee cubby hole inside the main door at Tynecastle.

Yet some terms are clearly universal. As he enthuses about the ‘swagger’ displayed by new head coach Ian Cathro right from the off, Kitchen intends that nothing gets lost in translatio­n.

Even if the Indianapol­is native is right about the new boy in charge of the Hearts first team, whatever chutzpah he’s been demonstrat­ing in a handful of training sessions will be tested more severely at Ibrox this afternoon.

Come kick-off, his confidence will be inexorably linked to the performanc­e of players he’s barely begun to know.

Yet the travelling band of just over 1,000 Jambos gathered in Govan today should, according to club captain Kitchen, be assured on one point. The 30-year-old in charge is in charge. He has commanded the respect of the squad. And they are absolutely ready to follow his lead.

‘His background is pretty impressive,’ said the skipper. ‘That he didn’t play at a high level has no bearing on his ability to be a coach. And I think he will be great.

‘When he came into the dressing room for that first time to address the team, there was a presence about him. There was a confidence about him, a swagger, a belief that he was the right guy for the job — and that his idea, his philosophi­es, were really going to benefit us. Over the past couple of days, it already has.

‘I think there is a benefit in having a younger coach. It’s a positive. But when we saw Ian in the dressing room and he took us out to training, nobody was thinking about his age.

‘We were very aware of how it’s going to be. He’s the coach. He’s in command. He’s out there barking orders. You don’t stand there and think: “Oh, this guy is only 30…” You don’t think that at all.

‘He has a confidence, he has the right ideas and he has demanded the respect of his players from an early stage.’

With a nod to some of the rabid criticism directed at Cathro from a footballin­g fraternity scathing of the young coach’s lack of a playing background, Kitchen added: ‘I’m not sure who has spoken out or whatever. It is what it is. We know we have the right guy. I haven’t read all of the reaction. But, as soon as Robbie (Neilson) and Stevie (Crawford) made their way south to MK Dons, everyone in that dressing room had confidence in the front office to appoint the right people.

‘I think they have. They’re not going to put us in a bad situation. They’re going to build on what Robbie and Stevie have done.’

It’s a harsh fact of footballin­g life that, because Neilson and No2 Crawford signed off with a rollicking home win over Rangers in their last game in charge, just a week-and-a-half ago now, we’re all going to look at today’s game as a chance to prejudge the new dynamic duo of Cathro and assistant Austin MacPhee.

This is just how it works. If they get badly turned over at Ibrox, something will have gone wrong. A brave defeat would buy them some time. A win? Well, we’ll see.

‘We expect a better Rangers side than we saw at Tynecastle,’ declared Kitchen. ‘For us to match that, we’re going to have be even better than we were that night. So it’s a big game with a lot on the line. We’ll be ready for it.

‘They’re top players, they knew it was a big game last time. We found a way to get the result. We’ll expect them to be better this time.

‘Not just because they’re at home. Any time you lose a game, you always look to find a way to improve on that. They’ll be thinking like that.

‘We were decent when we beat them at Tynecastle. We have to be able to mimic that — and even surpass it, if possible.’

The general consensus, one Kitchen is in no hurry to dispute, is that second place in the Premiershi­p will come down to a fight between Hearts, Rangers and the runners-up in each of the last two seasons, Aberdeen.

With Neilson having left on more than just a one-match high, even picking up the SPFL Premiershi­p Manager of the Month award for November in absentia, there is no obvious need for Cathro to start tearing down the Jambos.

‘The message he delivered to us on day one was emphasisin­g that it’s not a situation where everything has to be blown up here,’ acknowledg­ed Kitchen.

‘It’s not as if the coaches have been fired. So he made that clear. He said: “Look, I just want to build off what Robbie and Stevie have done for you”. Of course, there will be little changes here and there.

‘I spoke to John Souttar as soon as it was announced and he said great things about the new coach, having worked with him before. He told us that, with his background in Portugal, he wants to play, wants to move the ball quick. That has definitely been evident in the first few sessions we’ve had.

‘Personally, Ian spoke to me about my job as captain. That dialogue is there, just to make sure everything goes smoothly.

‘Because it is an interestin­g situation, changing mid-season. It’s about keeping everyone on board, working towards the same goals, keeping everyone on the same page.

‘They’ve done a great job in, what, three days? So, yeah, it’s a big challenge against Rangers. But we’ll be ready for that test.’

 ??  ?? Young Heart: Ian Cathro faces a baptism of fire when he takes his side to Ibrox this afternoon
Young Heart: Ian Cathro faces a baptism of fire when he takes his side to Ibrox this afternoon
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