The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Jam Tarts are a changed side, says Higginbotham
Pars winger insists Betfred Cup repeat will be ‘tough’
Kallum Higginbotham believes Dunfermline will find it far harder to sink Hearts in this year’s Betfred Cup now the Jam Tarts fans have given up the boos.
The clubs face each other this afternoon at East End Park, 12 months on from the Pars’ penalty-kicks victory in the capital that knocked Hearts out of the tournament at the group stage.
Higginbotham accepts the Premiership pace-setters are likely to prove a completely different prospect to that last meeting, when the under-fire Ian Cathro was still in charge at Tynecastle and the tie finished with supporters demanding he be sacked.
But he is hopeful the Pars can shake off last Saturday’s defeat to Ross County to rise to the occasion again as they bid to reach the quarter-finals and send nearly 5,000 Hearts fans home unhappy.
He said: “It highlights how important fans can be. If the fans are right behind you, you seem to get that extra positive, that extra 10%.
“But if they go the other way and they are booing every touch or calling for the manager’s head, then you saw how that works out.
“I thought last year at Tynecastle we were the better team and deservedly got the result we needed.
“But if the fans had been on their side then it might have been a lot harder to go and play there.
“So, them coming here on Saturday with that backing means it is going to be a really tough game.
“But it’s one I know everyone in our dressing room is looking forward to.
“I think they have sold four-and-a-half thousand tickets so there will be a great atmosphere against a great club and a great team that is flying high at the minute.
“We will go into it as the home team, we will be positive like we have been in every game so far.
“We had a setback on Saturday, so we need to put that behind us and look forward to this Saturday and the chance to test ourselves against a Premiership side, which is the level we all want to be playing at.”
Dunfermline breezed through their group earlier in the competition, defeating Dundee at Dens Park on their way to four wins from four.
Last weekend’s 3-1 loss to County was a reality check for the Pars after they opened their league campaign with a victory against Dundee United, their first at Tannadice in seven years.
And Higginbotham thinks Hearts’ 1-0 win over Celtic proves how hard it will be for the Fifers to progress.
He said: “To beat Celtic, at home or not, is a fantastic result and over the previous seasons Hearts have always given them trouble when playing at Tynecastle.
“They will come here full of confidence and they will be coming here fully expecting to win.
“We know we will be the underdogs but hopefully we can cause a cup upset.”
Hearts striker Uche Ikpeazu admits his flying start has been a lift but not one which will have any effect on his hard-working attitude.
The powerful striker has quickly become a fans’ favourite following his summer move from Cambridge thanks to three Betfred Cup goals and assists in Ladbrokes Premiership wins over Hamilton and Celtic.
But the 23-year-old needed little reassurance about his ability to make an impact in Scotland’s top flight and is not about to get carried away.
The former Reading and Watford youth player said: “I’m not going to hide, I believe in myself. I know what I can do.
“People always talk about the level you have come from. I have come from League Two, personally I believe I was better than that level. But obviously it took the manager to give me the opportunity.
“I don’t fear anyone, I just focus on my game and trying to improve every day. It is a confidence boost when you go up against Celtic and do well, but you just have to keep working hard.
“The fans have taken to me well and obviously I have had a good start, but I’m not going to get carried away. I am going to keep my feet on the ground, I haven’t achieved anything yet.
“It’s nice to have the fans chanting your name, it does give you that boost, but I am just going to keep working.
“You have got to work hard, hard work is the minimum requirement. There are millions of people who would love to be in the position we are in, so you can’t take it for granted.”
That sort of attitude is music to the ears of manager Craig Levein and the 4,700 Hearts fans who snapped up their full ticket allocation for East End Park.
“Our supporters are very demanding but the biggest demand they put on our players is to try their best in every match. And these guys have been doing that.
“And I think that is part of the reason that people want to come and watch them.”