Fighting for fifth is just not good enough, insists Rudi Skacel

By STUART BATHGATE
Published on Saturday 12 May 2012 03:25

HAVING lifted the trophy in 2006, Rudi Skacel knows how much it would mean to Hearts if they win the Scottish Cup next week. Yet, while the Czech international will celebrate along with everyone else at Tynecastle if his club beat Hibs at Hampden, he will regard it not simply as an undiluted triumph, but also as a compensation for what he argues has been a disappointing season.

Hearts manager Paulo Sergio has argued that, given the off-field disruptions caused by the club’s financial problems this season, any top-six finish should be regarded as acceptable. Skacel, however, believes that he should not look for any excuses.

With a final league match tomorrow against Celtic before they can fully turn their attention to the cup final, Hearts can claim a Europa League place by getting a point. They could also lose the game yet still get into Europe provided St Johnstone are beaten by Rangers. But, either way, Skacel does not think that being fifth should be cause for celebration.

“We should be somewhere else, not fighting for fifth position when we are the third biggest club in country with an amazing stadium and great supporters,” he said yesterday. “We are fighting for fifth and with all the problems at Rangers we should have been fighting for Champions League.

“We should be ashamed and upset we won’t be playing in the Champions League next season. I’m not really happy with the way the season has finished, and for us it is a massive game in the final because it’s a way to save this bad season.

“We finished fifth, we can’t be happy with how we played because we finished fifth and that is not good enough for this club. For me, as a professional footballer you have personal problems, but usually when you are on the pitch you should feel free. Football is one of the things that allows you to forget everything else.

“Any problem I have in my past doesn’t affect me – and I have to say, in the last two or three years I’ve had a lot of problems, but they haven’t affected me and only given me more focus for my football, because for two hours in practice and during the game you can switch off your mind. No excuses. We can’t make excuses. How are we in the Scottish Cup final if there are so many problems? For me, it’s not an excuse.”

Skacel is out of contract after the cup final and more or less resigned to leaving Hearts for a second time, having departed for Southampton in the wake of that win over Gretna six years ago. If his team do beat Hibs, he would be the first Tynecastle player in more than a century to have collected two cup-winners’ medals, but such a historic achievement counts for little.

“It is not important for me,” he said. “I want my Scottish Cup this year, that’s it. That’s my motivation and I want to say in this way, probably, goodbye.”

Asked why he said probably, not definitely or maybe, he continued: “You never know what will happen. We’ll see what the club has planned for the future. Who knows what will happen in the summer? We’ll all focus on the final first. Question someone else on this, not me. I have a contract until the end of the season, nothing less and nothing more. That’s it.”

For someone who knew little of Edinburgh life before he signed for Hearts in the summer of 2005, Skacel very quickly grasped the nature of his club’s rivalry with Hibs. In that first spell with the club and since his return in 2010, he enjoyed being a thorn in Hibs’ side – never more so than in the 2006 semi-final, when Hearts won 4-0.

“I have fantastic memories of that day. It was a massive game.

“It was an amazing day for Hearts, because we beat Hibs 4-0 and Paul [Hartley] scored an amazing hat-trick. These days stay in my memories.

“The memory of the celebrations of 2006 is a big motivation, because what happened afterwards was amazing and the guys in the dressing room can’t imagine what happened. You can’t tell it to them by words just what happened after we won the Scottish Cup.

“This is a great motivation for me and I will tell them before the game: ‘Guys, you can’t imagine what it will be like in Edinburgh if we win the cup, so be ready for it. This could be the biggest day of your life. The final against Hibs will be massive for this city.’

“I don’t want to be remembered as one of the guys who lost against Hibs. I’ll do everything for success.”

The celebrations in Edinburgh went on for some time after the win over Gretna, with a party at Tynecastle that night, a procession through town the following day and then another party at the ground. Skacel remembers them all fondly, but for him the best memory was immediately after the penalty shoot-out, when the realisation of victory began to sink in.

“The first few minutes after the final whistle were the most emotional and memorable; these are the best times in professional sports. Afterwards we went back to Edinburgh for the street parade on the bus, and the next day was amazing, There were three parts to this amazing memory, but the first couple of minutes are emotional in front of a full stadium.”

Taken from the Scotsman