Jake’s a Hearts breaker
Jake Mulraney might have been born in Dublin but he was made in Inverness.
However, the Hearts flyer will not let sentiment cloud his determination to save the Jambos’ Betfred League Cup hopes today.
The 22-year-old faces his old club Caley Thistle knowing that Hearts need a win to progress from a tight Group C after being docked points last week.
He says he’ll always love Inverness for saving his career after failing to make the grade at Queen’s Park Rangers in 2016.
But he said: “I can’ t afford to think about what a Hearts win would mean for Inverness.
“There’s no room for error and we need the right result. All we need to do is win and we go through.
“When you consider some of the uncertainty last week it is a position we would have taken.”
Mul raney made 64 appearances for the Highlanders and helped them win the Irn-Bru Cup last season. He said: “All I ever wanted was first-team football and to be in a senior environment.
“I jumped at the chance to come to Scotland for that. I’ll always be grateful to Inverness for giving me that chance. I grew up while I was at Inverness.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my time there. It’s as simple as that.
“I’m still pretty close with a few of the Inverness boys and we chat most weeks. I don’t mind that as their banter is quite good, to be fair.
“Aaron Doran is a funny guy and I’d say him and Zak Elbouzedi are probably the ones I stay in contact with the most.
“The Inverness gaffer John Robertson helped me improve a lot.
“I know he was a Hearts legend – and he gave me an idea of what to expect here – the fans, facilities and what the expectations would be l ike. He was definitely right about the size of the club.”