Makel's hoping to cause family strife

MARK BONTHRONE

DUNFERMLINE star Lee Makel would love to see his former Hearts team-mates break the Old Firm's stranglehold on Scottish football.

However, that won't stop him going all out to derail their title challenge on Saturday - even if it means his family stop speaking to him!

The Pars midfielder's nearest and dearest will have split loyalties when Dunfermline travel to Gorgie on Saturday with Makel's wife's family all staunch Jambos. The Tynecastle outfit will view the clash as one they should win while Jim Leishman's men will be hoping to pick up at least a share of the spoils to try and put a bit more daylight between themselves and bottom of the table Livingston. And while the former Newcastle and Plymouth player revealed he would happily cheer on Hearts on any other occasion, he insisted his loyalties lie firmly with his current employers even though a win for the visitors could cause some tension in the Makel household. "I always look for my former clubs to do well but where Hearts are concerned I take a bit more interest because my wife's family are all fans, in fact two of them are season ticket holders at Tynecastle," he said.

"I'm delighted to see them doing so well although the only problem is that I don't seem to hear about much else at family get-togethers these days!

"Hearts fans are understandably delighted by the start to the season, but this weekend I'm playing for Dunfermline and I have their interests to look after.

"I have plenty of reason to want to try and win because it could help us move up the league and there's also the chance to try and get one over on my old team-mates as well as my family. But whatever happens in terms of a result I'm sure I'll take a bit of stick from the family."

Makel missed last week's defeat by Falkirk as he was hit by the sickness bug which has swept through East End Park, but is battling to make Saturday's match. Makel, pictured during his Hearts days below, spent three years in Edinburgh after Jim Jefferies signed him and has been an interested observer as the Vladimir Romanov revolution got underway.

He, like most in the Scottish game, has been impressed by the progress that has been made in a short period of time and believes the emergence of a genuine challenger to the Old Firm can only be a good thing for the game north of the Border even if it does mean that most of the faces familiar to him have left Tynecastle.

"I had some great times at Hearts although it will be strange this time round as I won't know most of them and that will be the first time that's been the case," he admitted. "But there are still a couple of the lads and it will be good to catch up with them before and after the game and have a bit of a laugh.

"Hearts look a very strong outfit. They were a strong outfit under Craig Levein too but they look to have really built on that and improved. Under Craig they played a lot of back to front football whereas now they maybe pass it a bit more under George Burley which I'm sure the supporters are enjoying. It's great to see teams really having a go at the Old Firm this season and it's not just Hearts. Hibs have also shown they can match them on their day while Kilmarnock to a lesser extent are keeping up with them.

"You always want to have a competitive league and it's refreshing that it looks like we have that now. For too long it's just been about the Old Firm but finally we have other clubs doing well too."

And while some observers have been surprised by the strides the Jambos have made under Burley, Makel isn't one of them insisting, he always knew the former Ipswich boss would be a success north of the Border. He said: "I played against Ipswich and Derby down south when George was boss and those teams always played a good passing game so it hasn't come as too much of a surprise that Hearts have been moulded in that way.

"George has a style of play he likes and he makes sure he builds a team that can put it into practice. I was a wee bit surprised when he came up to Scotland but I think he probably just wanted a new challenge because he had been down south for quite a while. It's a real show of the ambition that Hearts have now that they were able to persuade him to come as he's an excellent manager."

And while some detractors are questioning when, and not if, the bubble will burst for the Gorgie men, Makel believes they have what it takes to take the title race down to the wire.

"I don't see why Hearts can't go all the way. People kept waiting for them to stumble but we are coming up for the first quarter of the season now and they are still unbeaten. Obviously you can't win every game and they will have a rough patch at some point but the key is how they handle that. But they have quality throughout the team and plenty of internationals so I'm sure they will cope."

While Hearts are battling it out at the top end of the table, the Pars are scrapping for their lives at the foot. But Makel insisted that their league placing is not a fair reflection of the way they have been playing this term.

He said: "We were hoping to have more points on the board than we do but I think we've been unlucky on a few occasions.

"We want to get points on the board sooner rather than later and we believe we can climb the table. There is still a good buzz about the place and the spirit is still there. If that spirit was to go at any point that is when you have to start worrying. But all the lads still believe we can climb the table and we just need to get the rub of the green and the results will come.

"If we were to get the win this weekend all the better as it would give everyone a real lift given the way Hearts have been playing and the results they have been getting."

Taken from the Scotsman