Hampden success would help heal some of Alex's wounds

ALEX MacDONALD will always be synonymous in Hearts' history with the fabulous team of the 1980s. Mackay, Robertson, Clark and Smith are others whose names evoke instant images of out-of-control hairstyles and Mita Copiers-sponsored strips.

Their date with destiny didn't quite go to plan at Dens Park in 1986, but 20 years on there is the ironic potential of Hearts and Dundee confronting one another again for a different piece of Scottish football's glamorous silverware.

Should Alan Kernaghan overcome Rowan Alexander and Gretna at Hampden on Saturday, and Valdas Ivanauskas outsmart Tony Mowbray at the same venue 24 hours later, a redressing of the balance could be in the offing for Hearts come the Scottish Cup final on May 13.

No-one would be happier to see them effect an atonement than the former manager who cried buckets with his players twice in a week all those years ago, after the league title and the Scottish Cup were both denied Hearts in the space of seven days.

For those who haven't been watching the recent BBC series That Was The Team That Was, a 2-0 defeat for Hearts at Dens on Saturday, May 3 1986, coupled with a 5-0 win for Celtic at St Mirren, saw the Premier Division championship head to Parkhead on goal difference.

That devastation was followed a week later by a 3-0 capitulation at the hands of Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final. For MacDonald and his players, the hurt can fade momentarily but it will never truly cease.

"Everything brings back memories for me now, that's the age I'm at," he laughs. "We were remembered as a great team who went on a magnificent run, but ultimately we didn't make it. As John Colquhoun said in the recent documentary, we've had so much press attention for not winning the league, but we'd swap it all for some success in 1986.

"The players I had - the Dave Bowmans, the Gary Mackays, the John Robertsons - were all Hearts boys. Okay, there was maybe a question mark over Robbo but he still played for us, and gave us everything. If they were to meet Dundee it would be another big game they would have to win, and I believe your next game is always your biggest. But for Hearts Sunday is important because of the city rivalry involved."

Hearts were always likely to have a job on their hands imparting the historic significance of Sunday's meeting to foreign players like Roman Bednar or Bruno Aguiar. Particularly when an all-Edinburgh cup semi-final hasn't been seen for 105 years and therefore the opportunity to compare the occasion is severely reduced. Native players like Steven Pressley and Paul Hartley will always have something to say on the matter, but the side boasting the greatest quota of home-grown talent will unquestionably be wearing green and white.

"It wasn't a problem in my day because there were so few foreigners back then, even English players were a bit of a rarity," said MacDonald. "Hibs have the younger legs and they have the core Scottish boys and that could be important.

"I think to some of the non-nationals at Hearts it will be another game of football, albeit an important one because they can take the club into a Cup final. But the Hibs boys will also feel a sense of pressure, possibly because they have so many local boys in their side who will know too well the importance of the occasion.

"I'd say the pressure will be more on Hibs than Hearts because of that."

MacDonald stopped short of intimating a wish to return to his former guise as Hearts manager with this match fast approaching, which will have much to do with the constant hiring and firing down Gorgie way of late.

He feels immense sympathy for the supporters clinging to Vladimir Romanov's coat tails during this rollercoaster ride of a season, although he also recognises that the potential for success this season is largely down to the Lithuanian's vision and driven personality.

"If the players could go on and win the Cup the fans would have them as legends, and I reckon that's regardless of what happens with the Champions League place in the SPL. Look at the way we were treated and we never won anything.

"The Hearts fans have been through a lot in their time and they deserve success. I'm only sorry we couldn't give it to them."

MacDonald tails off from this interview leaving you with the impression that he, too, may just toast any Hearts success this season from the comfort of his home in Glasgow.

It would certainly go some way towards atoning for 20 years of hurt.

Taken from the Scotsman