McAllister has heart set on another CIS Cup triumph

KENNETH STEPHEN

JAMIE McAllister only needs to re-run the DVD of last year’s final triumph with Livingston to recapture what the CIS Insurance Cup means, but for his new club, Hearts, the wait for success in this competition has become a weighty burden.

DVDs weren’t invented back in 1962 but somewhere, amongst the dusty archives, there will be a newsreel film of Hearts defeating Kilmarnock 1-0 - the last time anyone in maroon got their hands on this elusive piece of silverware.

New manager John Robertson was a player in the last League Cup showpiece Hearts contested: the epic 4-3 defeat by Rangers in 1996, remembered as the Paul Gascoigne Final for the Englishman’s match- winning contribution. However, the lack of progress in this trophy is something everyone at Tynecastle seems intent on rectifying, particularly when records show Partick Thistle and Raith Rovers have won it since the Gorgie club’s last triumph.

When Craig Levein left Edinburgh last week for Leicester, he conceded one of his few regrets was that this very good Hearts side had not made greater impact in cup competitions during his four-year tenure.

Tonight, the Tynecastle club can take a step closer to making amends for that if they clinch a semi-final place by beating Dunfermline at East End Park.

After experiencing a career-long high at Hampden last year, McAllister, scorer of the second goal against Hibs in Livingston’s 2-0 win, is keen to prolong his attachment with the League Cup, this time in Hearts colours. "I never really tire of speaking about the win with Livingston because it is a great memory. I still pop the DVD on from time to time and I remember everything about the day from start to finish," the defender said yesterday. "The old gaffer and the new manager have both talked about winning cups. It has been a long wait for Hearts to get to a League Cup final and the challenge is there for us. The wait does surprise me a bit because the league performances of the last few years have been very impressive."

If Hearts, who only have fitness doubts over Mark de Vries, overturn their earlier league defeat against the Pars, it will cast a favourable light on the reign of Robertson and Donald Park only three matches into their period of office.

Yet even Robertson yesterday was struggling to identify exactly why the League Cup had been such an obstacle for the club in the past 43 years.

"For some reason it is a trophy Hearts have not done particularly well in," the Gorgie legend confessed. "They have run into the Old Firm along the way on many occasions and they have been on the end of some shocks in the Scottish Cup.

"However, all the players here are determined to try and take the club a step forward. It is a challenge for them and if you have a semi-final to look forward to in February, it gives good focus to your season."

Taken from the Scotsman