Callachan desperate to put the record straight
FOR all the hurt inflicted upon Hearts in recent times, Ross Callachan still warmly welcomes the arrival of yet another Edinburgh derby.
The Tynecastle midfielder is eager to embrace any opportunity to redress the dominance Hibernian have enjoyed.
Raised as a Hearts fan, Callachan made his debut in the fixture when Craig Levein’s side lost 1-0 at Easter Road last month. That was an eighth successive derby without defeat for Hibs, who also hold a nine-point advantage over their rivals in the Premiership standings. Remarkably, Monday’s fourth-round draw has ensured the two clubs will clash in the Scottish Cup for the third season in a row. Hibs prevailed on both previous occasions — including on the way to ending a 114-year wait for the trophy — by winning replays at Easter Road.
Callachan is determined to prevent history from repeating itself yet again. With Tynecastle also staging a league meeting just prior to the winter break, the transition into 2018 will be energised by derby excitement.
‘It’s a great draw — and great for Edinburgh,’ insisted the 24-year-old. ‘Hearts haven’t done great the last two years in the Scottish Cup against Hibs, so this is a good chance to go and rectify that. We lost against them last time as well, so it’s an opportunity to make things right.
‘The more Edinburgh derbies, the better it is for Scottish football. It’s a great occasion. I played in my first one this season and although it was a disappointing day, it was good for my career. I loved it. We have one on December 27 first, so we need to get a result there, as well.
‘Hopefully, it’s third time lucky in the Cup. We need to go and do it for the fans.
‘In the past, Hearts were dominant for a while. Now Hibs have done well and got the results in the last seven or eight games. It doesn’t really matter how a team is playing in a derby, you just need to go and win the game.’
Hearts neither played well nor achieved a worthwhile result in the latest edition. Lacking cohesion and quality, Levein’s side toiled to match confident opponents.
‘We’ve played a lot better,’ admitted Callachan. ‘I think we’re better as individuals and as a team. I’d be first to hold my hands up. I wasn’t good enough. I can say that with honesty. I think a lot of boys would hold their hands up and admit they weren’t good enough. It just gives us more incentive to go out in the next derby and do better.
‘I hate getting beaten. I’m a winner and I want to win games. In a derby, it means even more. I know what it means to the fans and it hurt. Drawing them in the Cup is something to look forward to.’
Callachan may also relish a first challenge with Marvin Bartley. The Hibs midfielder trolled him on Twitter less than an hour after the last derby, writing: ‘Who is this Ross they talk of, I’m guessing he was injured today?!’
‘There’s nothing I can do about that,’ said Callachan, who yesterday helped promote Christmas Jumper Day with Hearts’ charity partner Save the Children.
‘I see a lot of tweets about myself and other players. That’s up to them. They’ve made that decision to go and tweet about me. I don’t like getting involved on social media. I think it’s pretty pointless, to be honest.
‘Is it more motivation? Not really. I’ve played against him a lot, so we know each other. He’s decided to tweet about me, which is a bit strange but it’s just one of those things.’
The delayed opening of Tynecastle’s new £14million stand was marked by a 1-1 draw with Partick Thistle on Sunday. Without a victory in their last four outings, Callachan knows Levein’s side must harness the power of their new surroundings to thrive again. Saturday’s hosting of Ross County is the second of six successive games in Gorgie.
‘We were so close to beating Thistle with only five minutes to go,’ reflected Callachan. ‘With the fans at our backs, it’s that twelfth man.
‘Sometimes it can bring pressure. If you think of it negatively, it’ll affect you in a negative way. If you think of it as a good thing, it will help your game and spur you on. It makes you do better. I think it does that with me.
‘We’ve got a lot of games coming up at Tynecastle. If we can just get that win, we can take momentum from it.
‘We need to show a bit of resilience. When we go 1-0 up, we need to see games out better. If we can do that then we’ll start picking up more points. Then we can get a run going and climb up the table.’