What a boost to see Craig back Cup to speed
Halkett return only fuels belief for final
ROBBIE NEILSON’S confirmation Craig Halkett is winning his race to be fit for the Scottish Cup Final has to be the best news this week.
I feared the worst when the defender was stretchered off with that ankle injury in Hearts’ semi-final victory over Hibs.
I thought it may have robbed him of a return visit to Hampden, which would have been horrible for a guy who I hold in the highest regard.
In my 20-year career I made only one cup final – the 2013 League Cup when Hearts lost to St Mirren – so nobody has to tell me these days don’t come around too often for most pros.
It would be a huge blow for Halkett to miss it but equally hard for Neilson to take because he’s been Hearts’ best defender this season. That is to take nothing away from John Souttar, who’s been superb as well, but the Jambos miss Halkett more when he’s out.
I admire him not just for his ability, which is massively underrated. He is a seven or eight out of 10 every week and given he is so consistent, he can be taken a bit for granted – not by his manager or team-mates though.
What I really like is the mental strength Halkett has shown to build a career after spending years trying to make the breakthrough at Rangers before being released and having to start from scratch.
Like so many kids when they are told they won’t make it at a massive club, it can go one way or the other.
Some knuckle down and build a career elsewhere. Others drift away,
their talent lost to disillusionment.
I know. I was nearly one of them.
Although my problems were selfinflicted. At 13 I left home for Chelsea, playing under Steve Clarke and Jim Duffy in their youth set-up. I was staying in digs with John Terry and cleaning boots of players such as Gianfranco Zola, which was the norm for “apprentices” back in the day. For a while it was great but at 17 I came home to Ayrshire one Christmas, saw my mates playing for fun, just enjoying their lives, and I wanted a bit of that. When I returned to London I was unhappy, not realising for a minute just how lucky I was.
I told Chelsea I wanted out and they finally released me in May 2002 – almost 20 years ago, which is hard to believe.
I thought I would come up the road and get a big club no problem. Honestly my head was full of nonsense.
I went into Rangers for training. John Brown was the coach at the time but he basically told me I wasn’t good enough to make it at Ibrox, so I was out and could have easily walked away from the game.
Thankfully Billy Stark offered me a contract at St Johnstone. I made a conscious decision to give myself a few years to make a go of it.
That led to three years at Ayr, which were great, before Hearts. I worked hard for that chance to sign for a great club and that’s why I admire Halkett so much – because he’s had to do the same. He established himself at Livingston and earned his move to Tynecastle. He has just signed a new long-term deal, brilliant for the boy and the club.
It’s another sign Hearts are moving in the right direction. They’re losing big Souttar to Rangers but they’ve secured everyone else they wanted.
I really like the mental strength that he has showed in his career
They’ve fostered a winning culture and last Sunday’s result proved it.
There was no real pressure on the outcome at Dundee United. They were without seven first-team regulars, a readymade excuse if they’d lost.
They conceded a goal in the fourth minute and in the past that would have knocked the stuffing out of them. Not now. Hearts dug out a 3-2 win. They now go into every game expecting to win and that won’t change when they rock up at Hampden to face Rangers. With a fit Halkett in their ranks, they’ll believe even more.