741 reasons why Berra believes Scots would profit from Souttar link-up

FOR Christophe Berra and John Souttar, watching the ball sail into the back of the Hearts net is becoming a hazy memory. Under the pragmatic stewardship of Craig Levein, the Tynecastle side’s defensive line has now not been breached in eight consecutive matches in all competitions.

Indeed, it is now 741 minutes since goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin last stooped to pick the ball out of his net — when Hamilton’s Xavier Tomas equalised in a 1-1 draw in Gorgie on December 2.

The 144-year-old club’s previous record was five successive clean sheets in the top flight, set on seven different occasions in 1905, 1921, 1936, 1973, 1988, 1991 and 2010.

As captain of this watertight vessel, Berra takes pride in steering Hearts into uncharted territory.

But he feels this record-breaking central-defensive partnership is on the start of a voyage that could eventually lead to international waters.

Michael O’Neill may have turned Scotland down but Berra believes Souttar is capable of partnering him for his country under whomever emerges as Gordon Strachan’s successor.

‘Sometimes managers look for established partnerships and we could be a good option, whether it’s a back four or a back three,’ said the 41-times-capped defender.

‘Often it is about already having that partnership and having that rhythm together.

‘It all depends on the new manager and his tactics. But it would be great for John to get his first full cap — and there is nothing to say he can’t. He has the potential to move up to the next level.

‘You don’t want to build people up too much because that sets them up to fail but John is not the kind of guy to get carried away.

‘He’s a good lad, he comes in every day and wants to learn and improve.

‘He puts in the hard work and, if he keeps doing that, then it will pay off, I’m sure.

‘We do have some good young defenders coming through in this country and John Souttar could be one of them. If he keeps playing the way he is, then it will be down to the next Scotland manager, whomever that is.

‘But, at the moment, he’s a Hearts player and we want to keep our strong defensive partnership as a unit going.’

Berra ended Strachan’s doomed World Cup qualification campaign as a first name on the Scotland teamsheet.

Since returning to Hearts last summer, he has been hailed as the finest defender in the country and arguably the signing of the season in the Scottish Premiership.

And Berra revealed that part of his remit when Levein convinced him to return to Tynecastle from Ipswich was to help Souttar’s development, even if that has led to occasional earache for his younger colleague.

‘I think he needs a moan, to be honest,’ said a smiling Berra.

‘Maybe things were a bit too laid-back before I arrived, but I like to keep John on his toes.

‘On the park, I get on at him to do the basics first. I tell him not to give the strikers a chance because that will feed their confidence.

‘I do moan at him but he’s got a lot of improvement left in him — but that goes for any player of his age.

‘If we ever did get to room with Scotland, he’s a bit messy and I am OCD, so I would have to moan to him about that, too!

‘When I came back in the summer, the manager told me John was young and that he had a lot of potential but he needed to have someone experienced around him.

‘That’s one of the reasons the gaffer brought me in — and so far so good.

‘He’s been doing well, he’s been improving and he is a good, level-headed lad who wants to learn and wants to improve. That alone can take you a long way. Hopefully he can keep improving and move to the next level.’

The Hearts clean-sheet machine will face stern tests in the next week at home to Motherwell tomorrow and at Celtic Park on Tuesday night. Berra knows one day he will be reacquainted with that sinking feeling of seeing the ball hit the back of his net. But he is determined to at least postpone the inevitable.

‘It’s been a good run but we know we will concede at some point,’ he continued. ‘But it’s not going to be fun when we do concede. The longer the run goes on, the more pride we take in the achievement.

‘On Saturday, we come up against Motherwell and they are a physical team of proper men.

‘Celtic away will be a big ask, too, and they may be out for revenge after we beat them 4-0 recently. But we want to keep our run of clean sheets going.’

lChristophe Berra was speaking as Kevin McGee, landlord of The Athletic Arms pub near Tynecastle, won the BT Sport Manager of the Month award.