Robbo at face value

MOIRA GORDON

IT’S the same but everything’s different. That’s how it will be when John Robertson takes his team to Ibrox this afternoon.

Around two months ago he sent his players into that arena full of positivity, with the primary purpose of seeking a win. The up-and-at-’em philosophy hasn’t altered but spotting other similarities will be tough, given the fact that he is in charge of different personnel while, to all intents and purposes, so too is his counterpart Alex McLeish.

For that September clash, Robertson was manager of Inverness Caley Thistle and it was a game Rangers simply had to win. Sub-standard showings and unacceptable results meant there was no longer any margin for error.

Struggling along fifth in the league at the time and hunkered down against the barrage of criticism, there was no way the Govan natives would have forgiven any dropped points against a team sitting second bottom and tipped for a rapid return to the first division from whence they came.

"In the end they did sneak it but you could feel, even from the terraces, that the fans wanted something to happen," says Robertson. "It shows you how strange football can be but you could see the majority of the Rangers fans willing Caley to do something so they could really vent their anger, but Rangers got through and then they won the game against Maritimo and kicked on from there.

"It was a strange atmosphere that day. You really got the feeling that their fans were willing them to make mistakes. I know that sounds strange but maybe they had come to the end of their tether. They wanted an excuse to get a change of manager but now Alex and the team can do no wrong but that’s all it takes in football - a little luck and it can all turn around."

That’s what happened in St Jakob Park on Thursday. Hearts may have attacked like famished predators and fought like dervishes but they also weathered more storms than a North Sea fisherman to twice take the lead against a much more fancied Basel side. The second time they hit late enough to ensure it would hold until the final whistle.

It was a trick often adopted by the wee man himself when he terrorised defences. In those days it was never over till the fat striker scored. These days the winners are delivered by proxy - Robbie Neilson adding the finishing touch on Thursday - but the mentality which saw his players refuse to give up the ghost or settle for a draw is certainly in keeping with the attitude of the fledgling Hearts manager.

Sitting in the comforts of the club’s Riccarton football academy, he admits a lot has changed, for him and Hearts, since he last played for them, in 1998.

"The strides the club has made in the six years since I was a player here, it’s incredible and we have to make the most of the facilities we have. Our youngsters are going through a fantastic sports science programme. Their nutrition is looked after, their strength and conditioning and their fitness. It’s second to none so in that respect there’s a bright future for the club."

In the intervening years, Roberston has also been evolving, from player to coach and then manager, learning his trade at Livingston before jumping in at the managerial deep end at Inverness. He didn’t sink, but that’s hardly surprising because when it comes to football this guy has always been buoyant.

Steering the Highlanders to Challenge Cup victory and promotion, he also ensured that they have not, as widely predicted, been the Premierleague whipping boys, and he won the manager-of-the-month award for his final few weeks there. He says that while his grounding there has been vital, it could never totally prepare him for his current job.

"It’s been a massive jump. Inverness had a fantastic training facility at Fort George and the sand-based pitches which are ideal to train on but then you come here and there’s five grass pitches and field turf outside and, more importantly, field turf inside which allows you to train without the weather conditions affecting you. Hearts, compared to Inverness, are an institution. Inverness are only ten years old."

At Caledonian Stadium, the job description was certainly more varied. Chief cook and bottle washer? Not quite, but as well as football matters a small staff and tight budget meant he had to deal with administrative detail, and the washing.

"We had to beg, steal and borrow from Graeme Bennett to get an industrial washer and industrial dryer at Inverness whereas at Hearts there’s three of each so there’s differences like that. Donald [Park, his assistant manager at Inverness and Hearts] was in charge of it but, yeah, I took the washing down to the away dressing room and got it prepared but it’s a small club and people have to understand that. The entire budget was £475,000 and that was for the entire team, 24 players. Then you come here and two or three Hearts players would make that up quite easily. That’s just the way it is. Inverness are a very honest club.

"They are a small club but they are growing and it’s a fantastic club to work for. But it is different there. You come here and there’s a media conference two or three times a week - a press conference at Inverness was a couple of phone calls, to be honest. This is a massive job and it’s been going quite well. We’re in the UEFA Cup and that’s why you want to do this job in the first place."

But with all the new-found perks comes even bigger expectations. If that is bothering Robertson, he is hardly easing the situation by claiming that while the UEFA Cup is fantastic, one of the next targets is splitting the Old Firm and claiming a Champions League place instead.

Sheer greed? Some may consider it a pipe dream, others a sign of madness, but, realistic or not, others will simply laud the ambition from a man who always took more chances than he missed. "That’s the ambition but we’ve also got to be realistic and the better chance of improvement comes in the cups. We’re into a semi-final and it would be fabulous to win some silverware.

"I don’t think Craig [Levein, his friend and predecessor at Tynecastle] reached a final in his time as manager here so that would be a slight improvement. But we want to improve standards and encourage improvement on the park as well. Hearts were very direct but what we want to do is add more passing and be a bit more adventurous. We want to give the players another option but ally it with still getting the results."

It worked on Thursday night where the early formation was so positive and fluid, it was able to quickly switch from 4-5-1 to 4-3-3 and even 4-2-4 as they charged at the disbelieving Swiss side.

"I’m not saying never be direct, but it’s up to managers and coaches to produce a product. We bemoan the lack of quality at international level so what we’re trying to do is make sure every Hearts player from under-17 through can pass a football and mix their game up, to be able to play to feet, to pass, to cross and play entertaining football. We want to add to the style of football they already play and that’s what we’re working on. If we want to do well in Europe then we have to adapt and we have to keep the ball and that’s what we are trying to work on. If they can pass and keep the ball as well as be direct at times then they will be more accomplished on the European stage."

Today, however, domestic duties dominate and breaking through a Rangers rearguard which has conceded just five goals in 15 league games, will require some accomplished finishing, let alone build-up play. And despite the fact that victory over Caley, the last time Robertson visited the ground, helped dilute the criticism levelled at McLeish, Robertson is not expecting an easy three points as a thank you gift.

"Alex stood by his team and his own mental strengths. We could have been the result that cost Alex his job but they sneaked it that day and since then they have kicked on and now they are neck and neck with Celtic and have a very good chance of progressing in the UEFA Cup and are in the semi-final of the League Cup, so from what looked like a possible sacking position, this could be one of their best seasons ever."

Things have certainly changed. The only similarity is that attacking attitude. Roberston won’t run scared and pack the defence, he wants to attack, he wants to entertain and he wants to win. He would like that to happen every game and given that he’s always been a man who has managed to hit his targets, if his record is as impressive from the sidelines as it was on the pitch, they’ll bag more of his goals than they miss.

Taken from the Scotsman