Neil sets Heart on first-name terms

MARK BONTHRONE

WHILE Hearts have been making the headlines both on and off the pitch this season, Neil MacFarlane has quickly become the forgotten man of Tynecastle.

A serious knee injury has limited the former Airdrie star to just three first team appearances this term, the last of which came almost three months ago against Queen's Park in the CIS Cup.

Since then the Gorgie club have lost George Burley as manager, Phil Anderton as chief executive and George Foulkes as chairman during one of the most turbulent spells in its history.

But with new boss Graham Rix just in the door and promising that everyone at the club will start with "a clean slate" MacFarlane is hoping he can force his way into a team currently sitting proudly at the top of the table alongside Celtic.

The holding midfielder, who was a virtual ever present last term under firstly Craig Levein and then John Roberston, resumed full training at the start of this week just in time to try and impress his new manager.

"This is my first week back in training and the fact it's the gaffer's first full week in charge has probably worked out quite well for me," said the ex-Airdrie star.

"I damaged ligaments in the Queen's Park match in the cup at the end of August and ever since then it's just been a case of building the knee back up gradually.

"Thankfully it didn't require an operation but the downside was that it took a long time and there was no rushing it.

"It was a wee bit of ligament that got torn away but it's great to be back in training. The last thing any player wants is to be out injured when someone new comes in as you want to make a good first impression and try and be involved straight away.

"Thankfully I've timed it quite well and now it's up to me to prove that I merit a place in the squad."

MacFarlane was part of the Hearts side that started the season in blistering fashion with a thrilling 4-2 victory away at Kilmarnock on the opening day.

He was then involved in the 4-0 rout over Capital rivals Hibs in the first derby only to be injured shortly afterwards.

A six-week spell of rest and recuperation followed before he could work his way up to light running and eventually full training. During that time his team-mates raced to the top of the SPL table and MacFarlane admitted it was a frustrating time having to watch from the sidelines.

"I went to every single game to cheer the boys on and was delighted to see them doing so well but on a personal level you would always rather be out there," he said.

"The most frustrating thing was not being able to train and that took a lot of getting used to. I'm naturally quite a fit person and enjoy exercising so not being able to do much was hard. Thankfully though that's all behind me now."

During his absence the place in the centre of midfield that was occupied by MacFarlane for most of last season was taken by one of Burley's first signings, Frenchman Julien Brellier. The former Inter Milan star has been a revelation since coming to Scotland and his solid no-nonsense style of play has given the likes of Paul Hartley and Rudi Skacel the cover they need to push forward.

Brellier has been arguably the Jambos' top performer this term, regardless of what owner Vladimir Romanov is reported to think about him, and MacFarlane knows he faces a tough test to get back in the team.

"The final decision will lie with the manager but obviously I know it will be very difficult as we have quite a settled side and have been playing very well," he said.

"But I'm used to competition for places, I've always had that since arriving at the club four years ago. The only thing I can do is knuckle down and work as hard as I can and hope that my best is good enough. I've played a lot of games for this club and when I'm out the team I'll certainly be doing everything I can to get back in it."

MacFarlane was, of course, met with a new boss on his return to full training and he revealed that he has been very impressed by Rix in the short time he has worked with him.

"The manager has been very good and all the lads are enjoying the sessions," he enthused.

"We had all heard about his reputation on the training ground and from what I've seen so far he deserves it.

"He's encouraging the passing game which I think suits us.

"He's worked with top players and coaches in the past and it's clear that he has taken pointers along the way as he's a top coach."

While Rix's abilities on the training ground are undoubtedly important he will ultimately be judged a success or failure by the results the team achieve on the pitch. First up is a trip north to face Aberdeen at Pittodrie this Sunday before a potentially difficult visit to Fir Park to play Terry Butcher's Motherwell six days later.

It's a tough baptism for the former England internationalist and MacFarlane knows how tricky it could be. Playing anybody away from home in the SPL is difficult but Pittodrie is one of the toughest places you can go to," he added. "They will want to pull themselves back into things a wee bit and will, I'm sure, be looking for all three points to help them do that.

"After that we are at Motherwell who are scoring a lot of goals and of course were a bit of a bogey team for us last season so it could have been easier certainly. But we have done well on our travels so far and hopefully that will continue. If I can be involved in the games then all the better."

Taken from the Scotsman