HIGH LOW SILVER

ROBBIE NEILSON paraded a trophy in front of a packed Tynecastle and thought football would always bring him silverware and success.

At the age of 17 he could be forgiven his youthful naivety.

Eight years and 126 Hearts appearances later, the defender knows the game is much more likely to be cruel than kind

The only medal Neilson has to show from his time at Tynecastle was won as part of the Under-18 squad that beat Dundee United in the 1998 BP Youth Cup Final.

They took a bow in front of Jambos fans as a warm-up act to the Scottish Cup winners who strolled out in front of the Gorgie stands to take the acclaim of the support 24 hours after they had beaten Rangers 2-1 at Celtic Park. Neilson basked in the summer sunshine that Sunday afternoon, little knowing it would be almost a decade before the club would come close to lifting another trophy.

But the full-back hopes to end the long wait when he runs out against Gretna at Hampden tomorrow.

Neilson watched from the sidelines as a kid when goals from Stephane Adam and Colin Cameron won the Cup for Jim Jefferies' side.

Now he would love to follow in their footsteps with a victory against the Second Division champions. Neilson said: "I was on the groundstaff the last time Hearts won the Cup and it would be nice to be a part of a victory this time around.

"I remember more about the day after the Cup win than the Final itself because the team came back to Tynecastle and paraded the trophy after an open-top bus tour around Edinburgh.

"We were allowed out on to the pitch to show the BP Youth Cup we'd just won by defeating United.

"There was a full house at Tynecastle that day and I was only young. I had just arrived at the club and thought cup final victories happened all the time.

"You quickly realise they don't, so when you taste success you've got to make the most of it.

"We've been to a semi-final here and there in the last eight years but we've not been in a final since 1998 and that's not acceptable for a team of our calibre, who should be fighting for honours every year.

"We should be playing in more finals and with Mr Romanov now at the club it's onwards and upwards from here.

"I'm sure the fans will soon see more silverware in the trophy cabinet at Tynecastle."

You were as likely to see Tony Mowbray strolling around Tynecastle in a Hearts shirt yesterday as detect any hint of complacency from the Hearts players put forward by the club to talk about the game with Gretna.

And you sensed it was more than just lip service as Neilson, 25, and Co acknowledged the dangers posed by the Raydale Park club. The Scotland Future man spent six months on loan at Queen of the South four years ago and knows the potential of a strong challenge from the south west of the country.

Neilson said: "Brooks Mileson is afantastic character. I watched the documentary ab out Gretna on TV the other night and he's a great guy for the whole community, not just the football team.

"There is great scope for getting a decent team there with a good fan base because there is a decent size of catchment area. A lot of people travel to watch Rangers and Celtic but they also need a local team that is doing well.

"Gretna have definitely been good for the Scottish game. A lot of players down there have SPL experience, such as Steve Tosh, Chris Innes, James Grady and Alan Main, and are a better standard than Second Division. There will definitely be no complacency from us and it's vital we start as well at Hampden as we usually do at Typecast.

"There's no pressure on us as favourites. Maybe there's pressure on Gretna because they have got this far but we also know they won't turn up and roll over."It's up to us to make sure we win the game - we're favourites and the team that has just finished second in the SPL."

Neilson has fended off all-comers for his place in the team this season, including new boys Ibrahim Tall and Martin Petras. Indeed, he was an ever-present until last Sunday's 2-0 defeat against Rangers when he was one of nine players rested by boss Valdas Ivan auskas. Quiet man Neilson shrugs when asked to assess his contribution this season but it shouldn't be under-estimated .

Neilson said: "The standard of player that has arrived at the club this season has taken the quality of training up a notch or two and pulled me up with it.

"It's nice to have played every game until Rangers and I would love to have come off the bench for that one but the Final was more important.

"A lot has been made of everything that went on off the field this season but it hasn't affected the lads because there was nothing we could do to influence it.

"We never worried because we knew there was enough quality in our squad to carry us through the hard times. We've had a hard run of matches to get to the Final, including games against Kilmarnock and Aberdeen.

"But the league campaign went to the wire so we didn't really think about it.

"However, that has all changed now. The media has arrived, we're talking about Gretna and were alise we're off to play in a big Cup Final.

"It would be fantastic to go out on a high at the end of the season. If we do win the Cup it'll be great for the club and our fans.

"We also know we could then build on any success and hope fully next season bring even more trophies to the club."

Taken from the Daily Record