Intensity of the top division and lure of Europe made up Cochrane’s mind on Tynecastle return

HE could have done without the shower of chips that rained down on him during the Edinburgh derby, but Alex Cochrane admits the sheer intensity of playing for Hearts is something he finds hard to resist.

Although born and raised on England’s south coast, the former Brighton defender’s name would suggest Scottish heritage and he confesses that there’s something about the game north of the border that stirs his blood.

Capped by England at under-16 level, Cochrane hasn’t climbed too high into the branches of his family tree but feels completely at home in Edinburgh.

Previously farmed out to clubs as diverse as East Grinstead Town and Union Saint-Gilloise, Cochrane spent last year on loan at Tynecastle and was happy to convert the transfer into a permanent deal.

‘The intensity here is so different to any league I have played in,’ he says. ‘Any team you play against up here is physically tough. You play Ross County away one week and know you can expect the exact same the next week against Celtic.

‘It is a tough league and that is one of the reasons I came back up here, to try to challenge myself.’

Hearts have started the campaign impressively and would enter today’s game at Celtic Park on maximum points were it not for the late goal conceded to Hibs’ Martin Boyle in the derby a fortnight ago.

If that late drama encapsulated the best of what the fixture has to offer, the moment that saw Cochrane pelted with food as he prepared to take a throw-in (below) was a sign of how the tension can become something less palatable

‘Yeah, that was different but it wasn’t just chips — I’m not too sure what the second thing was!

‘It shows the passion and it is something I wasn’t used to when playing with Brighton under-23s. It’s something I didn’t realise was here and I didn’t expect it when I came up on loan. But, also, the quality of players up here is a lot better than people down south imagine.’

Cochrane’s move has also served as the gateway to European football.

Although his prior spell on loan in Belgium gave him a taste of continental football, Thursday saw him face the champions of Switzerland as Hearts took on FC Zurich in the play-off round of the Europa League.

A 2-1 first-leg defeat in St Gallen has given Robbie Neilson’s side all to play for in the return this Thursday but group stage football is guaranteed, even if they lose, through the parachute of the Conference League.

Faced with a big decision on where to take his next steps over the summer, the lure of playing in Europe deep into the season helped make up the 22-year-old Cochrane’s mind.

He explains: ‘I had a few Championship clubs interested but I felt the European stage is one I want to be on. That was an aim of mine to come back here after the season we had last year.

‘The group of players we have here, the staff, the facilities, the fans, it is top class.’

Cochrane’s league debut for Hearts came in the opening game of last season’s Premiership campaign against Celtic.

Faced with a team in the infancy of its rebuild under Ange Postecoglou, Hearts claimed a memorable victory thanks to John Souttar’s stoppage-time header.

Subsequent meetings of the teams tended to be tight but went in Celtic’s favour as they recovered ground on Rangers to take the title.

The champions have won all three of their opening games this term and Cochrane admits Hearts will need to be mentally and physically attuned to match them today.

‘I have good memories of that first game,’ he says. ‘It was a good 2-1 win and I got a taste of how tough it is playing against Celtic.

‘They are a very good side and hard to play against. We will have to go there and fight hard.

‘You need to be fully concentrated all game because the players they have can carve teams open easily. We need to be fully at it.

‘We know that if we play our best football and play well then we have the potential to go there and get a very positive result.’

Although newly promoted, Hearts finished third with room to spare in last season’s league table.

European football will place extra strain on the squad but Cochrane believes the club has added sufficient strength in the summer transfer window to have hope of closing the gap on the Glasgow clubs.

Souttar may have left for Rangers but with Lawrence Shankland and Alan Forrest adding extra quality in attack and Barrie McKay starting the campaign in exhilarating form, Cochrane is excited by what his team might be capable of.

He adds: ‘It is a target for us to get closer to the top two. We want to push them and challenge them but it is a long season and anything can happen.

‘I think we have improved. We have brought in players who are good quality and they have come into the team and slotted in really nicely. There are players in there with experience of this league. ‘Forrest and Shankland have come in and played games and scored goals so it is a good start.

‘Barrie has been on fire. He has kicked on and you can see his quality. He is scoring goals now and that is a big plus.’