Gary Mackay could have been a Hibs player

By ALAN PATTULLO
Published on Wednesday 16 May 2012 00:00

AS WITH so many who have played their football for one club in a city split by a great tribal divide, Hearts legend Gary Mackay has a tale which reveals how it might all have been so different.

Mackay is as closely associated with a maroon jersey as anyone having worn one on 640 occasions. Prior to making it with the Gorgie club he had trained with Hibernian. However, he does now admit it would have been hard to sign for the Easter Road club given the prejudice that had been built up even in the course of his then short life.

“I know that I trained with Hibs, but I don’t think I could ever have been a Hibs player,” he said yesterday, as he looked ahead to Saturday’s William Hill Scottish Cup final between the two Edinburgh sides. “I think the word hate is very strong. But from the 7-0 game on, I probably did hate Hibs.”

Mackay, now 48, has in time adopted a rather more ecunemical view. Given that the agent boasts a few Hibs players on his books, including defender Paul Hanlon, he is as torn as someone as Hearts obsessed as he is can be. Of course, this still means he is desperate to see Hearts win, although he will be on his best behaviour when attending a 50th birthday party for Derek Hanlon, Paul’s father, on the eve of the final.

“I will go along and see him,” he said. “But will it be a relaxed day for him to have his 50th? I think he would probably lie in a darkened room rather than have a 50th birthday the night before the final. But that is what has been thrown up – there is a multitude of situations people will have to answer to individually or collectively to get the Holy Grail.”

Mackay also represents Ian Black in the current Hearts side. Like Mackay, the midfielder is a Hearts fan and is therefore as alert as anyone to the significance of the occasion. “It’s all guys I’m associated with who will have to handle the pressure,” said Mackay. “I am not sure if I could have dealt with it. It will be a huge ask of each individual. Can they deal with the pressure on the day? I look at Suso [Santana], a very tempestuous type of character, and Ivan Sproule, who was sent off in the previous semi-final at Hampden. These occasions bring out feelings and emotions you cannot answer for. I mean, I was only sent off four times in my career – and three times were against Hibernian!”

The Mackay blood was up in games against Hibs, perhaps understandably given the complex nature of his family’s football loyalties. His father, Peter, was a Hibs man, while his mother, Sandra, is from a staunchly Hearts background. His grandfather, Jimmy Munro, took Mackay to games, including, when he was only four years old, the 1968 Scottish Cup final defeat to Dunfermline. His father wrestled him back when Mackay started to exhibit promise as a footballer and deposited his son at Easter Road.

“We used to go every Monday night,” recalled Mackay, who was joined there by Dave Bowman, someone else who would also go on to make his name with Hearts rather than Hibs. “You were learning from good pros like Gordon Rae,” he added. Intriguingly, however, it was Mackay’s Hibs-supporting father’s decision to sever ties with the Easter Road club. “He decided the club wasn’t the right place for me after [manager] Eddie Turnbull kicked-off one day during a bounce match, a trial game. The way Hibs were, I think Eddie ruled at that time with a rod of iron. And I don’t think my dad felt that was the best environment for a young boy to go into.”

He has, though, developed a more mature relationship with the deadly rivals from Leith, perhaps due to necessity as much as anything else. Mackay knows he has to maintain a business relationship with those in authority at the club. “Now, though, I have nothing but respect for the club, and the way they are run,” he said. “I’ve got huge respect for [chairman] Rod Petrie and [chief executive] Scott Lindsay and people I deal with. That probably mellows you. Kenny McLean senior, who sadly passed away a few years ago, was part of my testimonial committee, along with [former Hibs player] George Stewart. So I have kind of mellowed over the years.”

Taken from the Scotsman