Winning in the West isn’t everything, says Jefferies

Alan Campbell looks at the form of Old Firm title challengers from the past to see if Hearts can go the distance this season

TWO weeks ago, according to the sceptics, the great test of Hearts’ SPL title credentials was whether they could beat Rangers at Tynecastle. Having cleared that hurdle with some ease, the same attention has now been turned to next Saturday’s enticing clash against Celtic. Namely, can Hearts win in Glasgow?

The answer to that question is yes, obviously – whether they will is rather more difficult to predict. But sandwiched between these two Old Firm games was last Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Falkirk. It was a pertinent reminder to Rangers and Celtic-obsessed pundits that seemingly straightforward assignments can prove just as dangerous as table-top head-to-heads.

Predictably, last Sunday’s result has led many so-called experts to reach the conclusion that the Edinburgh side will relinquish their league leadership at Parkhead – and thereafter fade away. The same experts, mostly, who predicted Hearts wouldn’t beat Rangers.

True, on Saturday the Tynecastle side will be without goalkeeper Craig Gordon, sent off after conceding the penalty which gave the home side the lead at Falkirk Stadium. His deputy, Steve Banks, will have a lot of questions asked of him at Parkhead, but at the age of 33 and with years of Championship experience in England he is hardly a quivering novice.

The realisation that Julien Brellier’s rib injury is not as serious as was first feared, and the likely return of Greek international left back Takis Fyssas, are not inconsiderable snippets of good news for George Burley. Now he, like Gordon Strachan, must await the outcome of Wednesday’s World Cup qualifying matches before assessing the fitness of his players.

Regardless of next Saturday’s result (and, intriguingly, there will be some Rangers supporters backing Celtic), logic suggests that Hearts are going to have to win at least one, and probably two, of their four games in Glasgow against the Old Firm if they are going to lift the title.

A glance at the results of the New Firm in the 1980s shows that while Aberdeen returned from Glasgow with an outstanding seven points out of eight (ten out of twelve in the new pointage) in 1979-80, they didn’t have to perform nearly as well to win the league in both 1983-84 and 1984-85 (see panel).

Indeed, when Dundee United lifted the championship in 1982-83 they took just three points out of eight (4/12) from their visits to Ibrox and Parkhead. That represented a win, a draw, and two defeats.

Hearts themselves did rather better in 1985-86, the season in which Albert Kidd’s two goals for Dundee in the final match at Dens Park allowed Celtic to win the title on goal difference. In that campaign Hearts won five points out of eight (7/12) in Glasgow – but it still wasn’t enough to win the league.

“It’s not necessarily about winning in Glasgow,” pointed out Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies. “It just depends how you get on in the other games, and how many points Celtic and Rangers are going to drop in other places.”

Jefferies, of course, was manager when Hearts were chasing a league and cup double in 1997-98. Although they beat Rangers 2-1 at Celtic Park to win the Scottish Cup, poor league results in Glasgow were a contributory factor to the Edinburgh club ultimately finishing third in the league, five points behind Rangers and seven behind Celtic.

Jefferies’ side took just two points out of 12 from the four matches played in Glasgow. History suggests that Burley’s team will have to aim for five or six if they are to sustain a title challenge.

One of his predecessors believes it is possible. “Rangers and Celtic both had very strong teams in 1997-98,” said Jefferies. “I’m not saying they’re not strong now, but I don’t think they have the same quality they had then.”

That’s an assessment most fans, including those of the Old Firm, would accept, but even so Jefferies, who was manager when Allan Johnston scored a hat-trick for Hearts at Ibrox in a 3-0 win, says it is essential for any side hoping to triumph in Glasgow to believe in themselves.

“Kilmarnock, like Hearts, have won at Ibrox, although we haven’t done so well at Parkhead,” he said. “There has to be a belief in the players that they can get results at these grounds, otherwise the fear factor takes over and they are scared to make mistakes or express themselves.

“It’s also important to take the few chances that come along. In our game at Ibrox recently we missed a glorious chance in the first couple of minutes, and it just changes the course of the game. Sometimes it’s not so much the boy who missed who is affected as the drop in confidence which goes through the whole team. On the other side of the coin, a goal raises everybody’s morale.”

One big difference between 1997-98, when Hearts came so close, and this one, is that the Premierleague now splits into two sections for the last five games. In the most competitive season since the change was introduced, Hearts could face each of the Old Firm in the last games of the campaign.

“Up until then the games against the Old Firm mean just the same as any other in terms of points,” noted Jefferies, “but if you’re in the hunt up until the last few weeks these games become massive because they’re six pointers, just as they are in the relegation struggle.”

Whatever happens on Saturday, Jefferies believes his old club are in for the long haul.

“Hearts have put together a strong side in the course of the summer and they’ll be worthy challengers,” he predicted. “George (Burley) has said it himself – if everybody is fit and well he’s quite happy, but you’re very fortunate if you go through the season with all your key players fit.

“It’s then a question of how you replace them and how long they’ll be out for. Celtic and Rangers have lost players, but they’ll always have quality to come in.”

09 October 2005

Taken from the Sunday Herald