Boyce turns blame game on to Hearts
Striker sees cup final as chance to heal self-inflicted wounds
PLENTY has been said about the sense of injustice with which Hearts view the conclusion to last season and the vote consigning them to a Championship fate with the Premiership schedule incomplete.
For Liam Boyce, though, the lingering feelings of anger motivating him for Sunday’s belated 2020 Scottish Cup final revolve around the on-field failings of the players themselves rather than the rival clubs whose votes sealed their fate.
Boyce still feels that unhappiness, that self-flagellation, around the club. That belief the squad didn’t do itself justice. They were four points adrift at the foot of the Premiership table after 30 games, after all, and that means there are some in-house wrongs to right and misdeeds to be atoned for, no matter the role external forces played in eventual relegation.
That process begins in earnest against Celtic at Hampden this weekend and only silverware will start the healing.
Boyce knows the October passing of former captain Marius Zaliukas, who raised the old trophy in 2012, from motor neurone disease at the age of 36 will loom large over the national stadium. As well as honouring his memory, though, the general slackness marking the tail-end of last term will be used to focus minds.
‘We lost Marius recently, the last captain to win the Scottish Cup for Hearts, so there are a lot of storylines and emotions going into this,’ admitted the Northern Ireland striker. ‘But we just need to concentrate on what we want to do.
‘We’ll harp back to that feeling of when it was done and we were relegated. That feeling of sheer disappointment still hangs there. You sort of feel it and you need to use that as motivation.
‘The feeling is probably anger, not at the way it went, but how we performed.
Ultimately, it came down to the last game and, if we’d won against St Mirren, we’d have gone above them and still be in the Premiership. We can only blame ourselves and we want to prove to the fans how much it means to us to get back quickly.
‘Last year wasn’t good enough but we’ve started well this year and, hopefully, we can fix it. Winning the league is the main thing, but the Scottish Cup is huge.’
Boyce warmed up perfectly with two goals in a 6-1 thrashing of Queen of the South at Tynecastle that put Hearts four points clear in the Championship.
He should have made it a hat-trick when missing a late sitter, but goals from Stevie Naismith, Jamie Walker, Elliott Frear and Josh Ginnelly, overshadowing a consolation effort from Ayo Obileye, rendered his rare profligacy irrelevant.
Hearts didn’t have their own problems to seek in November, exiting the Betfred Cup to Alloa and losing to Dunfermline in the league. However, the deeper issues at Celtic Park have Gorgie supporters optimistic their side can spring a shock against the embattled Hoops.
‘We know they’ve gone through a bit of a rough patch, but they still have quality players,’ warned Boyce. ‘The semi-final against Aberdeen was probably the best game they’ve played this season and, if they turn up on any particular day, then they are going to be brilliant.
‘We need to bring our A-game and not underestimate them, no matter what’s happening.’
Of course, Hampden has already been a happy hunting ground for Boyce. He won the League Cup there with Ross County in 2016, coming on as a late sub as Celtic were beaten 3-1 in the semi-final and starting against Hibs in the final.
‘That wasn’t my best day,’ pointed out the 29-year- old. ‘I was just back from breaking my hand and they took me off around 60 minutes.
‘But I won a cup, thanks to Alex Schalk in the last minute, which was brilliant. I just hope we can recreate that.’