Don hopes to end tumultuous year in the top six
Don Cowie insists Hearts’ trials and tribulations this season have made it the most tumultuous campaign he has ever experienced. Now 35, Cowie has been around the block enough to be no stranger to managerial changes so, while regrettable, Ian Cathro’s sacking on August 1 – four days before their Premiership opener against Celtic – was a setback he was always going to handle. More unique was the nine away matches out of 11 to kick off the campaign due to the redevelopment of Tynecastle, and the resultant residency at Murrayfield for four fixtures.
It may have been comfortable and convenient. However, it was often subdued and soulless, and never really “home”.
Allied with another substantial turnover of players in January as Craig Levein continues to address the follies of the Cathro era, Cowie concedes the level of upheaval has been unprecedented in his career. Nevertheless, he is determined to ensure Hearts finish with a flourish and secure topsix football.
Cowie said: “It has not been your typical season, that’s for sure.
“To change manager before the first game of the league season doesn’t happen very often and playing away from your home ground doesn’t happen very often, so it has been difficult. “Then we have had the change of players in January because it was a new manager and he wanted to put his own stamp on the squad.
“So, it has been up and down and that probably shows in where we are in the league.
“It has probably been the most tumultuous season I’ve had, because while everyone will experience changing managers through a season – it happened the year before when Robbie Neilson left – very rarely does it happen just a few days before your first league game. “Then we had Jon Daly as the caretaker for three or four games until Craig came in.
“So that has been very unusual, and something you won’t go through too often in your career. “It has also been different playing so many games away from home.
“It is hard playing away. We knew what it would be like, but we have shown since we have been back at Tynecastle how much it means to play there. “That’s has been the positive and hopefully we can go undefeated there from now until the end of the season and take that into next season.”