NEILSON VOWS TO DEFEND REMARK

ROBBIE NEILSON insists he is relishing the chance to clear his name at Hampden next month after being charged by the SFA over remarks he made about referee Willie Collum. In the aftermath of seeing defender Callum Paterson sent off in the 3-2 defeat to Hamilton a fortnight ago, the Hearts head coach stated that his side had practised playing with 10 men because statistically there was every chance their numbers would be diminished. He will be backed by his club, which plans to provide strong evidence. Collum sent Paterson packing with Neilson’s side leading 2-1 — although for the third time this year, the official’s decision was later rescinded. Neilson’s remarks prompted SFA compliance officer Tony McGlennan to serve a Notice of Complaint. The Hearts first-team boss is accused of ‘indicating bias or incompetence’ on the part of Collum in his controversial handling of the game, with the hearing set for October 1. But, speaking about the charge for the first time yesterday, the Tynecastle head coach vowed to strongly defend his remarks. ‘No, I’m looking forward to it. It should be good,’ he said. ‘I’ve been a couple of times and the tea is good, the sandwiches are good, so we will see what they have to say. ‘I will stand by what I said. I don’t want to say too much about it now because it is an active case but I won’t be taking anything back because what I said is what I believe. ‘Whether they want to interpret one way or the other is up to them. ‘I said what I said and I stand by it, and we will see where that takes us at the hearing at the start of October.’ Neilson, who hasn’t spoken to Collum since the incident, insists his opinion of the bulk of officials in the country remains high. ‘I think there are loads of really good referees, I really do,’ he added. ‘Bobby (Madden), who is taking the game on Sunday, is one of the best we have got. ‘He is a really good referee and I think there are a lot of really good referees out there, so I have no issues with the referees. I think we’ve got a good batch, just some maybe need help.’