HALKETT IS TAKING IT TO EXTREMES IN HIS BID TO MAKE FINAL
CRAIG Halkett’s unyielding desire to be fit for the Scottish Cup final has, quite literally, taken him to extremes.
Sent off to a specialist facility in Lanarkshire, the Hearts centre-back put himself through conditions more akin to peak summer in one of those Central American nations that sit high above sea level. It was gruelling. It was painful. But it was worth it.
Introduced off the bench for the last 17 minutes of Saturday’s dress rehearsal defeat to a youth-infused Rangers side, Halkett will tomorrow join John Souttar in playing in a bounce match to further accelerate his readiness for Hampden. That felt like a distant prospect when the 26-year-old suffered an ankle injury in last month’s semi-final success over Hibs.
Surgery may yet be required this summer — which would rule him out of any Scotland involvement — but Halkett’s focus has been solely on helping Hearts’ shot at silverware.
Asked if he felt able to start Saturday’s final, he said: ‘Yeah, I’m feeling good. I’ve probably worked harder over the last two or three weeks than I have done all season. It’s a massive game and one I couldn’t bare to miss.
‘I have actually been going out of the club and the training ground into what’s called an extreme environment chamber over at Hamilton.
‘You’re in a room with a couple of bikes, treadmills, rowing machines and you can set the temperature, the altitude and the humidity. Just the other week, I was on the bike for 40 minutes in 35 degree heat, 3,000 (metre) altitude. So it’s tough.
‘Not that I was thanking them at the time but hopefully it’s going to be hugely beneficial for me.’
While it may only be a temporary fix, being able to postpone surgery feels more like a major victory when there is a chance for Robbie Neilson’s side to crown an impressive season with Cup glory.
‘With the injury I had, 99 times out of 100 it needs an operation to fix it,’ admitted Halkett.
‘Obviously we’ve gone through the rehab and it’s come on better than first thought.
‘So I think it will be about getting through the final, having another scan and seeing how it is, then making a decision.
‘I thought my season was over. But once we saw the specialist, he said there was a small chance I could play, so it was a no-brainer for me and for the manager.
‘It’s a cup final and you do everything you can to get fit.’
The defender was not the only welcome comeback for Hearts within a distinctly end-ofseason performance. Also afflicted by an ankle issue, Souttar came off the bench during the second half to make his first appearance since early March. That left the Ibrox-bound defender poised to face his future employers in a high-stakes last appearance for the Tynecastle club. It’s a testing situation that will bring scrutiny, but one Halkett is sure Souttar can handle. ‘John’s a top professional,’ he stressed. ‘He’s a Hearts player at the moment. ‘He’s not going to be a Rangers player until the start of next season. He is fully concentrating
on winning the cup with Hearts. It’s a chance to win a major trophy in Scotland. He will be doing everything he can for Hearts to win the cup.’
Confirmation of Souttar’s pre-contract switch along the M8 angered some Hearts fans but Halkett sees a chance to exit as a club legend.
‘Exactly,’ he continued. ‘You look at the previous teams that have won cups with Hearts, they still get spoken about to this day.
‘It’s a chance to write yourself into the history of this club. It would be a massive achievement for all the boys, not just John. Everyone is going to be doing everything they can to make sure we are victorious on the day.’
To do so, Hearts will need to play significantly better than they did on Saturday against opponents with an even bigger prize in mind.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst rested all of his likely starting line-up for Wednesday’s Europa League final and used eight teenagers — including three debutants — over the course of the 90 minutes.
The Rangers manager was understandably delighted by the response of his youngsters, who outshone their more experienced hosts over a sunny lunchtime in Gorgie.
Hearts scored first through Peter Haring’s 24th-minute strike but that was cancelled out within eight minutes. Alex Lowry, the most impressive player on the pitch, delivered a deep corner headed home by Cedric Itten.
Lowry then foxed Michael Smith with a lovely little shimmy before coolly passing the ball into the net to give Rangers the lead.
Amid a glut of second half changes, debutants Cole McKinnon and Ross McAusland combined — with the former planting a fine strike beyond Craig Gordon to make it a day he will never forget.
The other major point of concern for Hearts came with the first half withdrawal of Liam Boyce due to a groin problem. Neilson is waiting to learn whether it will affect his influential involvement at Hampden.
‘No-one in the dressing room is happy about the result but another thing was getting through the game and making sure there were no more injuries,’ said Halkett.
‘Obviously Boycey has come off but hopefully, touch wood, he’ll be fine. I think we can just put this one behind us and look forward to Saturday.’
HEARTS (3-5-2): Gordon 6; Smith 5 (Halliday 67), Sibbick 6, Kingsley 6; MackaySteven 5, Haring 6 (Souttar 67), Devlin 5 (Atkinson 46), McKay 6, Cochrane 5; Boyce 2 (Ginnelly 12), Simms 5 (Halkett 73). Subs not used: Stewart, McEneff, Woodburn, Moore. Booked: Simms. RANGERS (4-2-3-1): McLaughlin 6; Devine 7, Sands 7, Balogun 6 (Simpson 61), King 7; Davis 7 (Weston 69), Arfield 5 (McCann 46); Diallo 6 (McAusland 61), Ramsey 6 (McKinnon 61), Lowry 8; Itten 7. Subs not used: McCrorie, Ritchie-Hosler, Miller, Fraser. Booked: Lowry, King. Man of the match: Alex Lowry. Referee: Kevin Clancy. Attendance: 16,969.