Ian Black aiming to leave on a high

STUART BATHGATE
Published on Saturday 5 May 2012 03:19

IAN Black has three games to play for Hearts before his contract is up, beginning with tomorrow’s league match against St Johnstone, and he is determined to end his Tynecastle career in style.

The 27-year-old grew up as a Hearts supporter, and would have been happy to extend his three-year stay with the club. But, having been told earlier this week that financial cutbacks meant he would not be offered a new deal, Black has accepted he must move on.

Before he does, however, there is not only the St Johnstone game, which will see both sides battle for a Europa League place, but also the Scottish Cup final, in which Hearts take on Edinburgh rivals Hibs. However reluctant Black might be to leave Tynecastle, he knows he at least has a chance to bow out on a high.

“It was a wee bit of a shock,” Black said yesterday of the club’s decision not to offer him a new deal. “I was pulled in and sat down with the boys up the stairs and was told that with the club trying to reduce the squad and the wage bill it would be time for me to move on.

“There was obviously a bit of doubt this day would come, but I switched that off to concentrate on my game. There is no right time for it, whether it had come at the end of the season or halfway through. I have to forget about that now and concentrate on the last three games.

“I’m here to do well for Hearts and end my [Hearts] career on a high. It’s going to be up there with the best moments of my life if we can win the Scottish Cup before I leave. It’s going to be massive just to have the shirt on, and if we can win it – not just for me, but the manager, staff, and players – it’s going to be great.”

Black has been playing through the pain barrier in recent months, and is booked in to a hospital to have a hernia operation at the end of this month. That will rule him out of a possible Scotland debut in the friendly against the United States, but he does not see it standing in the way of a move to a new club, with England the ideal destination.

“I’m never going to say that I’m happy to leave the club I support – my time here has been brilliant, especially the last two managers, who have brought me on in every way – but I’m going to hopefully begin a new challenge and kick on,” the midfielder continued. “Obviously I would love to go to a high level and England is somewhere I will be interested in, but I’m interested in anything. The phone has been quiet so far, so I hope it starts ringing in the next few days. I think it will be [good to get away from Scotland]. Especially when you watch English games and the way the referees let the game flow more, challenges are a bit stronger and the players get away with more. It will suit me more down there than the referees do up here.

“I’m going for an operation at the end of the month, but obviously I don’t know where I am going so I don’t know when I will be back. I don’t think there’s too much rehab before I can get back, so that’s a good thing.”

Hearts manager Paulo Sergio made it plain that he wanted to keep Black on, but had to accept that monetary matters would dictate the make-up of his squad for next season. “As a manager I would like to have Blacky with me, but it’s a decision I can do nothing about,” Sergio said.

“From the point of view of our board, I think it’s a financial decision, because nobody here should have doubts about the quality of the player. I believe Blacky is happy with that decision too, because maybe he wants to try himself at a higher level.”

Sergio remains uncertain about his own future. His contract runs out at the end of the season, and although he has had initial talks with the Hearts directors he is waiting for them to firm up an offer. The club’s remaining games may therefore be as important for the Portuguese coach’s individual future as they are for Hearts as a whole, but he continues to insist that he does not fret about what the future might bring.

“The timing is not mine,” Sergio said. “It’s not me that should be asking the board to sit around the table.

“We have been talking, people showed to me that they want me to stay, but the next move is not mine. The next step is for the ones who pay.

“I’m never worried about the future. Our future is today. Live your day, do what you can, live 100 per cent every minute of your life. It’s the way I live.” St Johnstone go into the game a point clear of Hearts, so a win would wrap up fifth place for them. Sergio knows the Perth side will arrive in Edinburgh highly motivated and eager to claim the three points, and he expects his team to match that motivation level.

“That kind of motivation sometimes can be the difference,” he added. “We can’t just be waiting for the cup final to put in 100 per cent. We should put that in every single day.”

Meanwhile, the SFA have corrected reports earlier this week which stated more Scottish Cup final tickets would be made available to Hearts and Hibs because of a low take-up by Hampden debenture-holders.

They say that remarks attributed to an SFA spokesperson were incorrect, and that in fact the take-up has been extremely high.

As a result, it is unlikely that the clubs will receive any additional allocation of tickets.

Taken from the Scotsman