Get me on the plane and you'll see Hearts fly

HEARTS great Dave Mackay believes owner Vladimir Romanov should start flying him up from his Nottingham home for every match - because the Jambos never lose when he is in attendance!

The former midfielder, arguably the best player ever to have pulled on the famous maroon jersey, has become something of a lucky mascot for the Tynecastle team and it's more than five years since he attended a game in which they were beaten. Indeed, you have to go back to February 4, 2001 for the last time that Mackay watched Hearts falter when they were beaten 3-0 by Celtic in the Capital.

Admittedly the 71-year-old doesn't get back to Gorgie quite as often as he wold like and only takes in one or two matches a season these days. However, his run is nonetheless remarkable.

He was in the stands this season for the Tennent's Scottish Cup quarter-final win over Partick Thistle and the good news for anxious Hearts supporters is that he will be at the national stadium tomorrow afternoon. "The Hearts should invite me up for games more often because they never lose when I'm there," joked Mackay, who not only became a legend in Gorgie but became one of the mainstays of Bill Nicholson's all-conquering Tottenham side which won the double in 1960-61 and captured the 1962-63 European Cup Winners' Cup - the first British team to win a European trophy.

Mackay, who missed that final through injury and also played with Derby County and Nottingham Forest said: "It's a long, long time since I saw them lose.

"I used to take in a few more matches when Craig Levein was in charge and we both used to joke that the club should fly me up for every match because they always won! I know Romanov has big plans for the club so I'm just a phone call away if he feels he needs a bit extra luck."

And the ex-Scotland internationalist reckons his lucky streak isn't in danger of ending this weekend. The Gorgie club are overwhelming favourites,

but while some former players and pundits are urging caution and warning against complacency Mackay conceded that he simply can't see a win for Gretna.

"I'm coming up for the game and I would be so disappointed if they didn't win. To be honest I think they are a certainty.

"Gretna have done exceptionally well to get this far and deserve a lot of credit but they simply shouldn't be able to live with the Hearts.

"When I was a player I would have loved to have played in a cup final against a smaller team like Gretna but never did. The last [Scottish] cup final that I won, back in 1956, we played Celtic which definitely wasn't an easy game.

"I don't see Hearts play an awful lot but, from what I have seen they've done well over the course of the season.

"They were a little bit up and down earlier in the season but they seem to be doing well again and at just the right time.

"Even if Gretna play to their very best and Hearts only play at 50 per cent the trophy should still end up back in Edinburgh.

"I know it's a one-off match and anything can happen but I'm certain I'll see a Hearts victory."

Should Mackay be proved right and the Hearts players are embarking on a lap of honour round Hampden, he believes it will be in no small part down to the influence of two of the Scottish members of the team.

"Paul Hartley and Steven Pressley have both really impressed me," he said.

"I've only seen them a couple of times a year but when I see them they really stands out.

"You can see that not only are they good players but there is also a lot of passion in their play and I like that.

"Hartley was brilliant against the Hibs and seems to be at the top of his game at just the right time for Hearts while Steven Pressley [pictured left] is a real leader and a great captain.

"If Hearts do the business tomorrow nobody will deserve it more than they do."

Taken from the Scotsman