Hay admits his apprentice has the upper hand

PAUL KIDDIE

DAVIE HAY helped John Robertson take his first tentative steps in coaching - and has since watched the Tynecastle legend race to the top in management.

The pair first got to know each other during Livingston’s remarkable rise through the leagues, the former Hearts star having moved to West Lothian after an emotional farewell to the Jambos following the historic Scottish Cup win in 1998.

Robertson was a key component of former Lions chief Dominic Keane’s Almondvale revolution, coming on board as a player-coach under then boss Ray Stewart.

Hay was very much a peripheral figure at that early stage of Keane’s reign in his role as an advisor, the former Celtic manager eventually taking over from Stewart as the West Lothian outfit battled to make the all-important step from the first division to the top flight.

It was at that stage that Hay and Robertson began to forge a formidable partnership on the training ground as Livingston continued to stun Scottish football with a rousing debut season in the SPL, the Almondvale side achieving the incredible feat of finishing in third place behind the Old Firm and qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

Now concentrating solely on the coaching side of the game, Robertson had played his own significant part in Livingston’s progress, a fact not overlooked by Hay.

The pair, of course, have since gone their separate ways, Robbo jumping at the chance of his first managerial role when Inverness Caley Thistle came calling after the departure two years ago of Steve Paterson, his success in steering the Highlanders into the SPL making him the only obvious candidate to succeed Craig Levein recently at Hearts.

Despite guiding the administration-hit Lions to CIS Cup glory with victory over Hibs at Hampden in March 2004, Hay left Almondvale when his future was called into question on the arrival of Pearse Flynn in West Lothian.

However, with Dunfermline appointing the former Celtic boss as the man to succeed Aberdeen-bound Jimmy Calderwood, Hay and Robertson soon saw themselves pitting their wits against each other.

The sorcerer and his apprentice went into battle in the CIS Cup quarter-final at East End Park, the new Jambos gaffer emerging a 3-1 victor in just his second game in charge, goals from Dennis Wyness, Paul Hartley and Joe Hamill setting up a semi-final date in the New Year against Motherwell at Easter Road.

Now, just a matter of weeks later, the pair go head to head again in the SPL for the first time, Hay acknowledging he has his work cut out if he is to get one over his former lieutenant at Tynecastle tomorrow.

"I wanted to try to put pressure on John by telling him he is still to win at home but then I realised Dunfermline haven’t won at Tynecastle for a good number of years so I won’t bother with that one!" he said.

"I am pleased for him as the Hearts job is a job he always hoped would come his way and he will be desperate not to be a failure.

"The biggest thing for John is that he is back where he always wanted to be. He will have the fans on his side but while he had fantastic side there as a player he has to get his own success as a manager.

"Because of the success he had there in his playing days and because of what Hearts means to him, he will be driven to bring success to the club and himself.

"There is no doubt he will be striving to follow up his magnificent record as a player with his performance as a manager - and he’s certainly heading in the right direction after recent results.

"The win in Basel will have given everybody at the club a lift and they were unfortunate to lose against Rangers at Ibrox last weekend."

It didn’t take Hay long to recognise Robbo’s potential in the coaching department, the experienced boss happy to listen to his ideas as the pair plotted Livingston’s rise to prominence.

"Robbo took something of a gamble when he came to Livingston, initially as a player-coach when I was more in the background," he said. "I knew him more as a player then but grew to know him more when Jim [Leishman] and I took over. By then he had pretty much stopped playing and came on to the coaching scene and both us took the training.

"I think we dovetailed well and I just let him to get on with whatever exercise he wanted within the confines of what I had planned.

"Tactically it was me and Robbo at Livingston and at times I’d listen to him!

"I remember one game Livingston played at Dunfermline and we were losing when Robbo came up with an idea of a change of position involving David Bingham and we ended up winning the match.

"He was self assured and game aware back then - I suppose you could say he was taught well!

"His management in football really began at Livingston and he has served a more than reasonable apprenticeship.

"When we lost to Hearts in the cup he had just come into the job and didn’t have to tamper too much with what Craig Levein had left him. But he has since put his own thoughts and ideas into the team and so far things have gone well for him."

The Jambos go into tomorrow’s clash anxious for the win to prevent them falling any further behind third-placed Aberdeen, Hearts currently trailing the Dons by eight points.

With success currently being forged both on the European front and in the CIS Cup, Hay questions whether the Gorgie outfit can sustain a strong enough league challenge to repeat last season’s third-place finish.

But he insists any disappointment the fans may feel should that happen has to be tempered by what is achieved this season.

He said: "You always talk about a tangible amount of success. Progress into the last 32 of the UEFA Cup has to be an aim while they are also in the semi-final of a cup.

"Hearts are desperate to finish as high in the league as they did last year but playing in the other competitions may affect that. They’ll be in the top six for sure but it remains to be seen if they can get third with the other distractions.

"You have to ask what’s better - finishing third or winning a cup. And having won the CIS Cup with Livingston and finishing third with them, the cup victory is the only choice for me."

As for tomorrow’s head-to head? "There’s been a lot said but it doesn’t concern that we know each other reasonably well.

"It is almost like a side show to the main event which is the match and we’ll be both going out for the three points. Afterwards we will have a beer and a chat about things."

Taken from the Scotsman