Mahe's determined Hearts won't be atrocious

STEPHANE MAHE has already been on the receiving end of one of the greatest Scottish Cup shocks of all time at the hands of Inverness Caley Thistle - and the Frenchman has no intention of suffering a similar fate when the First Division outfit visit Tyne castle tomorrow.

The defender was a member of the Celtic side humbled by Steve Paterson’s minnows two years ago, Thistle stunning Scottish football with a sensational 3-1 triumph at Parkhead which signalled the beginning of the end for the John Barnes-Kenny Dalglish regime.

Having since swapped the famous green-and-white hoops for the maroon of Hearts, Mahe will once again lock horns with the men from Inverness in tomorrow’s fourth-round tie in the Capital.

And he is determined to help the Jambos make the most of the draw which paired them against a team from the lower division for the chance of a place in the last eight.

"We all know what happened when Inverness played Celtic two years ago," he said.

"But football is such that smaller teams are always capable of creating a surprise in one-off matches which is what cup-ties are all about.

"It doesn’t matter if it’s the Scottish Cup, French Cup or Spanish Cup, upsets can happen. Only recently back in France Lyon were knocked out of the cup by a team from the third division."

He added: "When you have played football for 15 years as I have you have some good memories and some bad ones.

"Inverness was obviously not a good occasion for me and we have to make sure there are no shocks at Tynecastle tomorrow.

"We have to go out and show we want the victory more than them; demonstrate the difference between the Premier League and the First Division."

The former Celtic star came within ten minutes of creating a surprise of a different kind on Wednesday, when an impressive Hearts performance pushed his old club to the wire in their league clash in Glasgow.

Just when it looked like the Jambos were going to emerge with an unexpected point, up stepped Henrik Larsson to net a quick-fire double to maintain the champions’ 13-point lead at the top of the SPL.

The Gorgie outfit were left cursing the Swedish star’s uncanny knack of scoring against them but took plenty of encouragement from the overall performance.

"It was a shame what happened in the last ten minutes," added Mahe. "We had done well and came so close.

"But we have to focus on what we did right and our spirit and work- rate was excellent against Celtic.

"We have to keep that going tomorrow. Ross County made it difficult for us in the last round and we have to remember that and stay motivated.

"We have been working extremely hard over the last two months and if we can continue that, then I am confident we can get the result we need to reach the next round."

Much has been made of the impact which Ricardo Fuller has made since his arrival from Jamaica, and there is no doubt that the striker’s scintillating form has helped kick-start Hearts’ season after a sticky start to the campaign.

However, Levein’s acquisition of Mahe has also been a shrewd move with the 33-year-old’s experience proving invaluable in helping mould a solid defensive unit.

The former Stade Rennais full-back was only too happy to make the switch to Hearts early in the season after failing to secure a regular first-team place under Martin O’Neill at Parkhead.

He spent four successful years with the Celts, winning two league championships, a Scottish Cup and two CIS Cup medals.

Now, though, his only thoughts are doing well at Tynecastle and he has already seen enough under Levein to convince him that the Gorgie boss can take the Jambos to new levels.

"I am very happy here at Hearts and have settled in well," he said.

"I had four amazing years at Parkhead but really needed to be playing regularly at this stage of my career.

"I was accepted very quickly by everybody although it was perhaps easier as I knew a lot of the guys having played against them for Celtic.

"We had a poor spell earlier in the season but I wasn’t worried about the results as we are a young team which has a lot of talent.

"It just took time for everyone to get used to what the boss wanted.

"It is great working with Craig Levein, Peter Houston and John McGlynn. They put in a tremendous amount of work with all of the players - not just the senior guys but the youngsters, too. They are make good progress and I’m delighted I came to Tynecastle.

"Craig may be young for a coach but he has good ideas. He is also very professional and meticulous in his work.

"I am sure given time he is the man to take Hearts on to better things. Supporters want one thing - to see their team win. But sometimes they have to patient.

"Craig knows the club and the people around him trust him, as do the players. That is very important and I’m sure he’ll do a great job at Tynecastle."

Victory over Inverness will take the Jambos into the quarter-finals of the Tennent’s Scottish Cup and Mahe is convinced Hearts can go even further with a little help from Lady Luck. He said: "The Scottish Cup is a very special competition and with the correct mental approach tomorrow we should make the last eight.

"We can still do better in the league but confidence is important and with that who knows what the cup may hold for us?"

Thoughts down Gorgie have naturally turned to 1998, and Mahe is no different. "Fans have spoken about the 1998 win and it’s an amazing feeling to win silverware with any club. I would like to experience that with Hearts and with the special spirit which I honestly feel is at the club just now we have a chance."

Taken from the Scotsman