The lost heroes of 2006
The 21-year-old winger was Man of the Match and Hearts’ best player on the night but was powerless to stop Maltese side Birkirkara.
The Jambos trudged off the pitch after the 2-1 defeat with boos raining down from the stands at Tynecastle.
Nicholson knows the f lak was warranted as Hearts became the f irst ever Scottish side to lose to Maltese opponents.
But he won’t stand for any criticism of manager Robbie Neilson.
Last year, some Jambo supporters shelled out to fly a plane over Gorgie with a message that read: “No style, no bottle. Neilson out.”
The manager was on the receiving end again in midweek but Nicholson is adamant there’s no- one better equipped to do the job.
Nicholson said: “It wasn’t a nice feeling on Thursday night and it wasn’t what we expected.
“I actually thought we were the better side – but you can’t be sloppy in the Europa League like we were.
“We’ve got to get over it. The start of the Premiership season is coming up and we need to gear up for that now.
“Of course, I understand the fans’ frustration. They pay to come and watch us and in games we should be winning it’s totally understandable.
“Supporters will always get upset if they feel we are not living up to our potential. Even when you’re doing well, some fans might not think so.
“There was a guy on Thursday night shouting at me, calling me whatever. But you can’t let it affect you.
“We were all down and out after the game but we’ll pick ourselves up. We can’t sit there with our heads down.
“It’s something we’ve got to take on the chin. Hopefully we can make it up to the fans during the season.
“Is the manager the right man to take us to where we want to go? He’s already done that.
“We won the Championship, he’s taken us into Europe. So I can’t see anyone else doing a better job.”
Everything has been rosy for Neilson and his Hearts players for two years now.
They cruised to the Championship title ahead of Rangers and Hibs in 2014/15 and last term secured third spot in the Premiership.
So the Birkirkara defeat was a sore one to take for punters used to seeing their side win.
But Nicholson said: “You have to remember we’re playing against tougher opponents now.
“It’s up to the fans if they want to boo us. That’s part of football and we can’t get too upset about it.
“It’s just a small minority. We have to let it go over our heads and try to focus on our own game.
“And to be fair, the Hearts support have been great with us over the last few years.
“We’ll be stronger for getting a bit of stick. We’re all at a similar stage in our careers.
“Last season when the fans got a bit impatient, we weren’t really used to it and maybe it affected some of the boys. But we’ve a stronger mindset now.”
Nicholson could at least be pleased with his own display on Thursday night. He tortured Maltese full-back Cain Attard all night and crashed a shot against the underside of the bar.
But he was still gutted to exit Europe before the end of July – especially when he felt Neilson’s side deserved better, with Prince Buaben’s first-half penalty miss proving costly.
Nicholson said: “We were all on a bit of a downer after the game because we’d lost as a team.
“No- one deserves credit when you’re beaten.
“If we’d taken our chances early on the game would have been put to bed.
“I thought we battered them but we needed a bit of luck.
“Prince scored his last penalty so was always going to continue taking them.
“But even the best players in the world miss penalties from time to time.
“He’ll get over it, he’s been brilliant for us.
“We wa nt e d momentum before the star t of the Premiership but if we can do wel l against Celtic in our first game, it would be great.” Scotland were the only home nation not to reach the Euros this summer but this should have been the year when the class of 2006 reached their peak.
At the Under-19 European Championships 10 years ago, Scotland came within a whisker of winning the tournament, going down 2-1 to Spain in the final.
Since then the Spaniards have gone on to lift the World Cup and two Euro crowns at senior level.
But we still can’t even qual i fy with the latest failure particularly painful as the Tartan Army watched Wales and Northern Ireland light up the Euros.
From the squad that reached that Under-19 final, Steven Fletcher, Robert Snodgrass, Lee Wallace and Graham Dorrans have gone on to win full caps.
But most of the others have disappeared off the radar with Calum Elliot, Andrew Cave-Brown and Charlie Grant no longer even playing.
Coach Tommy Wilson helped lead those talented kids a decade ago alongside Archie Gemmill.
And he still can’t figure out how Scotland failed to build on that success.
Wilson, now academy director at MLS side Philadelphia Union, said: “I think back to the final often.
“It’s amazing the disparity in the pathways the players have taken since that game.
“Fletcher, Dorrans and Snodgrass went right up to the top of the tree and some of the others are not playing.
“People ask why Scottish teams don’t qual i fy for major finals but it’s hard to put your finger on it.
“I would have thought a number of these players would have gone on to be successful.”