STAND & DELIVER
Cowie happy to see home improvements for Hearts but takes the do-it-yourself approach to on-field leadership
THEY are taking the timber out of the stand but it is the trepidation among the staff that Don Cowie wants expunged from the Tynecastle dynamics this summer. There is a rebuilding job to be done on and off the field of play, according to the midfielder, who is concerned that too many Hearts players have found hiding places at their home.
Cowie liked the challenge of confronting the atmosphere in Gorgie when a Ross County and Inverness Caley Thistle player.
So he loves the intensity among the support as a Hearts star.
However, he notes that the form slump since mid-season has seen the advantage of the compact ground annulled by negativity.
The famous old main stand, used for the last time today against Aberdeen, has been bearing down on a confidence-sapped group of players and creating an intimidating environment for some.
That’s a lack of experience and not the wrong attitude, according to Cowie, but he hopes it will only be the opposition agitated at a new-look ground next season.
‘Our stadium can be intimidating at times when it is not going well and you maybe go into your shell,’ said Cowie. ‘You don’t mean to do it. You do it subconsciously.
‘You think about yourself and you’re not really doing it for the team. That is a human reaction. I’m at the stage where I’ve played long enough. I am enjoying my football.
‘I can just forget about it. I know what my strengths are and what they are not. So I just do what I can. It is just trying to get every player to play with freedom. And that is tough when results are not going well.
‘But the sooner you get into the right frame of mind, then the quicker they can go on to have a great career.
‘We do have some outstanding young players. If they can do that and evolve then the future is bright. If you are not willing to do it, then you’ll get pushed to the side.
‘The club will get someone else in who can. That’s why you’ve got to learn quick. It is an experience this year that everyone will learn from.
‘This stadium was unique, a place everyone loves to play at. Visiting players, too. Being a Hearts player, when it is rocking, it is unbelievable.
‘And we’ve not had that enough this season because performances haven’t been good enough.’
Cowie (below) is seen and heard as the lone experienced Scot shouting the odds in a Hearts team that has not taken transition well from Robbie Neilson to Ian Cathro.
Two talented young Scots, Callum Paterson and John Souttar, were lost to injury.
Aaron Hughes has been hurt since the February 22 elimination from the Scottish Cup by Hibernian.
Short-term foreign fixes have been very much hit and miss amid the lack of leadership.
So many are out of contract this summer that there are commitment issues at play as Hearts wage a losing battle to secure a second successive European place.
‘I always feel a responsibility no matter what,’ said Cowie when asked about the leadership vacuum.
‘I’ve played for a long time and there are a lot of young players at the club.
‘So you try to help them the best way possible. It has been a difficult period for us and there is no getting away from that. Results haven’t been great but you just have to stick together. You just have to be as professional as you can and try to lead — vocally and physically — on the pitch. You try to galvanise and get everyone to go along with you. ‘It is not helped that Aaron (Hughes) has been injured. He’s far more experienced than me and showed when he was playing just how calm he was. He was a great influence.’ No wonder Cowie casts an envious glance at today’s visitors, Aberdeen, who possess the continuity that Hearts crave to establish. Hearts won three in a row in 2016 in the second half of last season, including a William Hill Scottish Cup knockout, against the Dons. However, they have failed to score a goal in a dismal draw and two defeats to Derek McInnes’ team. ‘Aberdeen have had a terrific season, been so consistent and it is probably against them that we have let ourselves down the most in the league,’ admitted Cowie. ‘They are really strong. Although it was a tight game against them at the start of the season and we were starting to find our feet in the other games, they have beaten us pretty comprehensively. ‘It is a chance for us to put that right.’