Bobby dazzled by resurgence of Hearts

MIKE AITKEN

OF ALL the footballers who played for both Hearts and Celtic over the years - the number includes Gordon Marshall senior, Willie Wallace, John Colquhoun, Andy Lynch, Chris Shevlane, Roy Kay, Mike Galloway and Stephane Mahe - none was better pleased to leave Parkhead and sign up at Tynecastle than Bobby Prentice.

Born in the small mining village of Douglas Water (by coincidence, the birthplace of goalkeeper Henry Smith) Prentice was something of a curiosity in Lanarkshire. He was a Hearts supporter from birth. His father had no interest in football and, to this day, the left winger, who made 240 appearances for the Gorgie club in the Seventies and scored 26 goals, doesn't know where the attachment came from.

Now 52 and living in Dalkeith, Prentice retains an affection for the club he served so eagerly as a winger who could excite and infuriate in equal measure. "Like most wingers I blew hot and cold," he says modestly. Always popular with the club's supporters thanks to his willingness to attack full-backs at pace and plant crosses on the head of Drew Busby, Prentice joined Hearts in the summer of 1973 on a free transfer from Jock Stein's Celtic.

The forward had just spent two years on the Glasgow club's books during which time he failed to break into the first team.

John Hagart, who was a young coach working at Tynecastle under Bobby Seith's management at this time, was probably instrumental in recommending the teenager since he'd already coached him in the junior ranks at Newtongrange Star.

When the pit closed in Douglas Water, Prentice's family moved to Dalkeith.

As a schoolboy, his sprinting ability won him medals and it was pace which singled him out as a future Under-23 internationalist. He played part-time for a season with Dundee and tried, unsuccessfully, to combine football with work as a motor mechanic.

He got his chance at Celtic after catching the eye at Newtongrange. "I was at Celtic between 1971 and 1973, but didn't play in the first team," he recalled. "I had a year on the groundstaff and then a year with them as a full-timer. I think if I'd waited a bit longer I would have been given an opportunity in the first team. But there were a few problems and I fell out with the management."

When he was released by Celtic at 19, Prentice spent a week with Hull before turning his back on English football. Although there were approaches from a number of Scottish clubs, Prentice was thrilled to sign for Hearts.

"It would be wrong to say I was promised a first team place with Hearts, but I knew there would be an earlier opportunity to make a name for myself," he recalled.

"And the move was a dream come true for me. While I was born in Lanarkshire, I was always a Hearts supporter and followed them as a boy. A lot of people still don't believe me when I tell them that - but it was true! I can remember going to Hampden to see Hearts win the League Cup when I was nine years old in 1962."

During the six years or so Prentice spent with Hearts - the highlight was that 5-1 win over Locomotiv Leipzig in the European Cup-Winners' Cup - he had more joy playing against Rangers than Celtic and still remembers his first goal for the club in a 3-0 win over the Ibrox side in the September of 1973 when he and Drew Busby stole the show.

Games against the Parkhead club during the winger's time habitually ended in disappointment, none more so than a league match in the November of 1976 when Willie Gibson scored a hat-trick. Hearts led 3-1 but still found a way to lose the game 4-3.

"We were two up after about ten minutes and Willie scored a hat-trick in the first-half," Prentice went on. "What changed the game was when Celtic scored a second right on the half-time whistle. They got a goal at the right time and pounded us in the second-half. We should have won out of sight by half time. But we let them back into it and they scored with a Ronnie Glavin goal a few minutes from the end."

If that was sore to bear, Prentice also played in a League Cup semi-final against Celtic in the same season when Jim Brown put the Edinburgh club in front. Kenny Dalglish supplied the equaliser and a hotly disputed penalty 18 minutes from the end - converted by Dalglish - settled the match in Celtic's favour. Prentice was ordered off for a foul on Johnny Doyle and the tie ended in uproar.

"There's always been an edge to games between Hearts and Celtic and I'm sure today's match won't be any different," Prentice observed. "Even if you go in front against Celtic, you know they'll come back if you give them even a sniff of an opportunity.

"But I feel Hearts have a great opportunity to take something from this game. I was at the Motherwell match, which a lot of people felt was one of Hearts' poorer displays. But they still got the victory thanks to an amazing save from Craig Gordon in the last minute.

"What I like about this Hearts' side is their tremendous spirit and how they blend from back to front. It's not about individuals, it's the way they perform as a unit. This is the best start to the season Hearts have enjoyed that I can remember and, from what I've seen of them, the mixture of Scottish internationalists and good foreign players gives the side a wonderful balance. Like most Hearts' fans, I've found their recent form and results almost unbelievable."

Although a full cap eluded him, Prentice played three times for the Scotland Under-23 team and scored a spectacular goal against Denmark at Easter Road in 1975 to set the seal on an impressive 4-1 win which also included an Andy Gray hat-trick.

A similarly impressive solo strike the following season against Hibs at Easter Road confirmed his place in the affections of the Hearts fans, but Prentice admitted he was quite taken aback by the level of support enjoyed by the current side.

"I played a lot of games at Tynecastle in the Seventies but the response the team is getting today from the supporters is quite phenomenal," he noted. "I've been to a couple of home games this season and the atmosphere inside the ground is like nothing I ever experienced in my playing days. Of course, the lay-out of the stadium is different from the time when I played and the proximity of the stands to the pitch undoubtedly adds to the excitement. But the supporters are filling those stands now and you can feel the sense of occasion as soon as you walk into the place.

"Hearts are now attracting sell-out crowds of 16,000 or 17,000 for every game and I can't recall that every happening before. When the team had good runs in the past, the attendances would be around the 11,000 or 12,000 mark. So there's something different going on this time and the fact they're selling out the ground all the time is great.

"I've been back to make the half-time draw and it's good to see the old faces from the past are welcome once again at Tynecastle. I've bumped into Drew Busby and Alan Anderson and everyone with a connection to Hearts is excited about what's happening at the club. Long may it continue."

Taken from the Scotsman