200,000 fans turn out to congratulate Hearts Beginning of a new dawn after Scottish Cup triumph

From the archive

18 May 1998

THE sleeping giant that is Heart of Midlothian Football Club came alive yesterday amid incredible scenes of celebration following their Scottish Cup win.

Edinburgh was a sea of maroon as more than 200,000 people took part in a massive street party.

More than 15,000 of them crammed into Tynecastle to watch the team parade the cup around the ground.

Even the Lord Provost, Eric Milligan, got in on the act, hosting an informal reception for them at the city chambers where Hearts manager Jim Jefferies turned up with the cup in a maroon, 1952 two-litre Bristol sports car driven by the club's chief executive, Chris Robinson.

The players followed in a flotilla of taxis and some of them, like striker John Robertson, had to hitch a lift in a police car to get them through the crowd.

Amid the celebrations, which included an open-top bus ride around Edinburgh, Jefferies took time out to praise his team which he said had now become ''legends at a very young age.'' Just what the cup final victory meant to the Hearts fans could be seen on their faces, young and old alike in tears as the trophy was paraded through the streets.

As he soaked up the atmosphere at Tynecastle, Jefferies talked of how the club had finally ''slid the monkey of their backs'' regarding winning a trophy.

''Saturday was the best day of my life and of the players as well,'' he said.

''A lot of people have not seen Hearts win a trophy before and that victory was especially for them.

People used to say it was 42 years since Hearts last won the Scottish Cup, now they'll have to say it's only 48 hours since they won it and that sounds much better to me.'' Jefferies said winning the Scottish Cup had been everything he thought it would be and more.

''I knew it was going to be special as I knew there were so many desperate people wanting us to win it.

There were grown men in tears and they are experiencing sheer joy just now.'' Hearts cup final captain Steve Fulton, emotional by the reception the team received, said the club could build on its final success and mount a real challenge on the league title next season.

He said he believed Hearts had the nucleus of a side which could remain a major force in Scottish football for years to come.

The omens seem to be right for his prediction.

The last time Hearts won the Scottish Cup was in 1956, when they beat Celtic 3-1 in front of 133,000 people at Hampden.

Following that victory, the Tynecastle side won two championships and three Scottish League Cups in the course of the next six years.

Fulton said although it was impossible to predict the scale of the club's future success, he made it clear Saturday's victory was not a flash in the pan.

''The manager will strengthen the team during the summer which will make people fight for their places which is healthy,'' said Fulton.

''Also, I'm sure the players at the club will stick together.

''Paul Ritchie has recently signed a new two-year deal and Colin Cameron is talking about a new contract.

I believe this club is about to take off.'' Fulton said Jefferies would see to it that Hearts would go all out to bring more trophies back to Tynecastle next season.

''We have a young enough side to bring more success to Tynecastle.

The players and the fans would love to get used to scenes like we had yesterday and we would love to bring more trophies back for them.'' However, Fulton warned that other clubs in the premier division would see Hearts as a scalp they would want next season.

The youngest Hearts player in the cup final, 19-year-old Gary Naysmith, agreed with his captain that the league flag was well within their grasp.

Naysmith said that 48 hours on, he was still stunned by the reaction to the victory and was still coming to terms with what he had achieved.

Yesterday's celebrations were especially poignant for Gary Locke, who would have been captain on cup final day if it hadn't been for injury.

Locke, a life-long Hearts fan, said the victory had been the greatest day of his life.

''People have talked about Hearts having a jinx when it comes to finals, but Saturday has put an end to such nonsense,'' said Locke.

''The manager said that every one of the guys would become legends, and he's right.''

Taken from the Herald