Weir's way can ease pain of leaving Hearts

GRAHAM WEIR used to dream about playing in a Scottish Cup final with Hearts but he admits that watching his old team-mates lift the trophy was a bittersweet experience.

The former Hearts striker penned a one-year deal with First Division Queen of the South at the end of the season after failing to make his mark under Vladimir Romanov's reign.

The pint-sized frontman failed to play a single game for the Tynecastle side last season after suffering a horrendous leg break in the club's pre-season tour to Dublin and, after six months on the sidelines, was loaned out to the First Division side in January before making the move permanent at the beginning of this month.

He's glad to be back playing first-team football on a regular basis but revealed that the pain he felt at leaving Tynecastle is still so raw that he gave away his ticket for the cup final against Gretna.

He said: "I was there for a long time and I still love the club. They are just starting to have some good times, what with the Scottish Cup and the Champions League place and it has been a wee bit bittersweet for me to be honest.

"I still keep in touch with a lot of the boys, like big Webby [Andy Webster] and Robbie [Neilson]. They are good guys and they deserve every bit of success that has come their way and I just wish them all the best, although I would have loved to have still been part of it. It has been hard to watch some of it because I know how close I could have been to being involved. I had a ticket for the cup final but in the end I didn't go. I gave my ticket to my mate, who is a Hearts fan, because he was struggling to get one himself. It has been quite hard for me to get used to not being part of the club and I just watched the game on television."

Despite his disappointment at failing to win a new contract with the Gorgie side though, Weir is delighted to see his old colleagues finally break the Old Firm's dominance of Scottish football.

Hearts split the two Glasgow clubs for the first time in 12 years and Weir believes that Romanov will do everything in his power to continue that next season, adding: "It is definitely good for the Scottish game that at last there is another team up there challenging.

"For a long time it has just been Rangers and Celtic at the top of the table with Hearts maybe finishing in third place and Hibs fourth but it has all been turned round this season. It has been good to see that happen and it is good for Scottish football that someone is finally splitting the Old Firm.

"I think Hearts can definitely improve on last season because I think Mr Romanov will go out and buy a few more players and top quality ones. Next season will be as good if not even better for them."

Weir admits that he was gutted when he realised that he would not be offered a new contract by Hearts but believes that a permanent move to play under Ian McCall at Palmerston will pay dividends in the long run.

Weir, who will always be remembered fondly by Hearts fans for the two late goals he scored to secure a 4-4 New Year's derby draw with Hibs at Tynecastle in 2003, added: "It was really disappointing for me when the loan to Queens first came up because it wasn't my decision and it was quite hard for me to accept.

"I was with Hearts for six years and I loved my time at the club, but the problem was that I didn't know if I would be offered a contract at the end of the season or not. I knew that I had to make the move or I could have been stuck looking for a new club at the end of the season. But it has really worked out for me because I've been playing regular first-team football and the First Division is much harder than just sitting in the reserve league."

Having been forced to sit on the sidelines for six months last term, Weir is determined to come back fitter than ever next season and has already started his own pre-season regime: "I've been doing a bit of training over the last fortnight or so, just me and my brother, to try and give myself a bit of a head start.

"I've signed on for a year and I really want to give it my best shot, prove my fitness to the manager.

"Getting a good pre-season under my belt will really help. When you've been out for that length of time you really need that to get your fitness levels back to what they were before the injury.

"I just want a fresh start.

The manager has done really well since he came to the club and he was a big part of the decision to move to Palmerston. The club are definitely going to go places with him in charge because he has made such a difference in just a couple of months.

"I want to try and do my best, score as many goals as I can. We'll just see what happens from there."

Taken from the Scotsman