Opportunity of locking horns once again with young rival Harris
for him. He has a big future ahead of him. He’s a good player, he’s very direct and he whips balls in. He’s a full-back’s worst nightmare.”
“It was usually Hearts who got the better of the derbies in the youth ranks over the years. Hopefully that will continue,” McHattie added.
Hearts certainly got the better of Hibs last season. Indeed, three league defeats against their rivals contributed to the situation where the Easter Road side had to win against Kilmarnock in their last Premiership fixture to avoid being involved in a play-off. They failed in this mission, and then failed in their attempt to overcome Hamilton Accies, despite securing a first-leg victory.
Just as dismaying for the Hibs supporters was a record of four defeats in five meetings against Hearts, who were supposed to be operating at a reduced level due to their financial circumstances. Youngsters like McHattie were given little choice but to get on with things as Hearts sought to overcome the restrictions placed on them by a signing embargo. Hibs, meanwhile, suffered as Pat Fenlon was sacked in October and his replacement, Terry Butcher, proved unable to inspire an upward swing in fortunes. Instead, their form simply got worse.
“Hibs were obviously going through a hard time, while we had young players who were on the up and getting experience of playing week in, week out,” recalled McHattie. “It helped make us better players.”
“We did well in the derbies last season. Hopefully, that can continue in the upcoming ones. It’s great to play in these games, but you always have to be careful in derbies, especially in the first one. You can’t allow yourselves to get any silly bookings or red cards.”
Hearts managed to avoid this against Rangers at Ibrox last weekend in what proved a high-octane start to the league season, with the visitors scoring a winner in injury-time. “The Rangers game showed what the boys are capable of,” said McHattie. “The new lads have come in and gelled very well. We have set the benchmark now. We want to get promoted. That’s what every fan wants and we believe we can do it.”
This aim is made more complicated by the presence of Hibs, as well as Rangers. But McHattie is delighted to have them for company. “I am glad they are here with us,” he said. “We will have another four or five derbies this season which is great for the club and the fans. They will be a rival this season, along with Rangers. They have a new gaffer who has come in and made a lot of changes.
“It is the same here. The gaffer has told us what he wants and it’s been great so far.” DUNDEE manager Paul Hartley wants his team to remain hard to beat but he has challenged them to go out and take the game to in-form Partick Thistle.
They have drawn both their Scottish Premiership games while Thistle opened their campaign on Wednesday with a 4-0 thrashing of Ross County.
Hartley knows hard work has been the key to their promising start in games against Kilmarnock and Inverness and he wants his players to continue showing the same ethic.
Hartley said: “I’ve been happy with the start we’ve made to the new season. It’s early days and the players have acquitted themselves well.
“I think we’ve got a great group of players who all want to succeed. We want to be hard to beat. They work so hard for each other and that is what we’re going to need for this season.
“Sure, we know this is a difficult league but the encouraging thing is we’ve only lost one goal from open play in our first two matches.
“That’s something we would obviously like to continue, although it certainly won’t be easy against Partick Thistle.”
Hartley, who will be without injured skipper Kevin Thomson, added: “Of course, we are going out to try and win the game on Saturday. That’s how what we will try to do every week because we’ve got the kind of players who like to play open, entertaining football. That is something which won’t change.
“At the same time, we know Thistle will be tough opponents and showed with their result the other night what they are capable of. But we’ve got to be positive and try to do what we’re good at and see where it takes us.”
Scott Fox found it difficult to adjust to his fall from grace last season after following a Scotland call-up with four months as second-choice goalkeeper at Partick Thistle.
But the 27-year-old now appreciates that his spell on the sidelines can help push him on to greater things.
Fox got the nod over Paul Gallacher as Thistle began their Scottish Premiership campaign with a 4-0 victory over Ross County on Wednesday. And that was partly down to his hard work in the summer to make sure he won his place back after being dropped in January.
Fox said: “It was hard last year when I was sitting on the bench and went from a high to a low, massively, very, very quickly. I couldn’t chap the gaffer’s door because he [Gallacher] was doing so well. It was hard and it just drove me on in the summer to get back in the team and try to produce what I did last year.
“Psychologically, it’s going to push me on. Times are going to get hard but I know I can’t let my performances drop because I don’t want that to happen again. It was massive for me personally to get the nod because Gall did so well last year, and it could have been anybody’s.”
Gallacher doubles up as goalkeeping coach at Firhill and Fox is delighted to have the 34-year-old former Scotland goalkeeper pushing him on and off the park. “Gall spoke to me on Friday and told me I was playing,” the former Celtic youth player said. “Obviously, he was disappointed but he was encouraging me too. It’s good to have someone in your corner like that.”