200 not out

Tynecastle’s longest-serving player may have been seen as a bit-part character for much of his career, but he finally appears to be getting the recognition he deserves, writes Michael Grant

ROBBIE Neilson won his first Scotland cap on Wednesday night, which put him 47 behind Hearts team-mates Steven Pressley and Craig Gordon when they next get around to comparing their haul of international appearances.

So long as the three of them remain at Tynecastle, though, there is one sense in which the more established pair will never catch up with Neilson. The right-back will make his 200th appearance in today’s Edinburgh derby, and he is Hearts’ longest-serving player.

Somehow it is typical that there has been no suggestion of testimonial events for the player who signed for Hearts ten years ago this month. Neilson has always seemed like one of the supporting cast at Tynecastle, a player whose commitment, ability and presence can be taken for granted while attention is drawn away by more eye-catching talents such as Pressley, Gordon or Paul Hartley. For as long as Pressley hangs around he is not even the best-known shaggy-haired defender in the back four.

When it became clear last year that owner Vladimir Romanov was on a one-by-one mission to systematically upgrade the Hearts squad with expensive imports, there were supposedly knowing rumours that Neilson’s first team days were numbered. He seemed an inevitable casualty. Yet he has survived, and comfortably so given that his form was rewarded by a Scotland debut – a starting one, at that – against Ukraine on Wednesday.

If it would be an exaggeration to suggest that Neilson made himself indispensable to managers or head coaches such as George Burley, Graham Rix, John McGlynn and now Valdas Ivanauskas, he has certainly displayed a range of qualities which extend far beyond his well-known ability to deliver a long throw-in.

Neilson, 26, has also served Jim Jefferies (who first signed him), Craig Levein and John Robertson – “I’ve seen off a few managers in my time” – while being a permanent eye-witness to an eventful decade at Tynecastle. If he was entitled to feel that his place at the club was a little precarious during a period in which he was offered only one or two-year contracts, his emergence as an established element of the back four was confirmed by the current deal which ties him to Tynecastle until 2009.

“I’d like to think I will be a one-club man. I enjoy it at Hearts and the club is heading in the right direction. I hope I’m there for a while to come but we’ll have to wait and see because things can change very quickly in football.”

Little alters as instantly as the mood between two sets of supporters on the day of a derby, and the result at Easter Road this afternoon will establish bragging rights at least until the clubs next meet at the same venue in the CIS Insurance Cup quarter-final on November 8. Neilson has been able to enjoy operating in a period of Hearts supremacy in the derby. Hibs have won only five of the last 20 meetings, although they took all six derby points at Easter Road last season and the first of those two wins was especially sore for Hearts given that it ended their 12-game unbeaten start in the league.

Although he is originally from Paisley, Neilson has spent so long in Edinburgh that the culture, traditions and importance of the derby has seeped into his bones. “The rivalry is fierce, it’s the same as Celtic against Rangers, if not worse. Our fans will take up their full allocation at Easter Road and the fans at opposite ends will give each other absolute pelters for 90 minutes. They really have a go at each other.

“A lot of the players from both sides are supporters themselves so they know exactly what it means. They are supporters privileged enough to wear the jerseys and whenever they lose they hurt as much as the man on the street. Or if they win they are as happy as any fan. It’s important for fans to see Scottish players in the team, it keeps an identity and proves there is hard work going on behind the scenes to improve the club and rear stars for the future. At Hearts we’ve got Jamie Mole and we’ve had Lee Wallace and Calum Elliot in recent seasons and Craig Gordon is another to make it through from schoolboy age with us. Hibs have Kevin Thomson, Steven Whittaker, Scott Brown and others. It’s great for the city of Edinburgh to have talent like that playing on the doorstep every week.

“Hibs seem to play their better football against the so-called better teams, because they are given more room to attack. It’s the same for ourselves: a lot of teams sit in against us and it can be frustrating. But this game will be full of attacking football. We know it’s going to be difficult and the first derby of the season is always hard to judge.

“The most important thing is that we beat Hibs and get three points on the board to keep up with Celtic and ahead of the others.

“Finishing second last season was a fine achievement and we want to do at least the same again this time. I think we have been improving with every game. Our confidence is high. We believe we can win every game we play in the SPL.”

Taken from the Sunday Herald