Hearts star Andy Driver says he's desperate to become double cup winner before his Tynecastle contract ends this summer

22 Jan 2013 00:01
By Scott McDermott

THE winger has vowed to put the uncertainty of his future at Tynecastle to the back burner and focus on securing Heart's place in the League Cup semi-final this weekend.
Hearts ace Andrew Driver with young competition winner Angus Blacklock Hearts ace Andrew Driver with young competition winner Angus Blacklock

ANDY DRIVER once feared he’d never win a single trophy with Hearts.

Now the Tynecastle winger wants to secure legendary status in Gorgie by lifting two in the space of 10 months.

The 25-year-old was a key man in the Jambos’ memorable Scottish Cup triumph at Hampden back in May – when they hammered city rivals Hibs 5-1.

But the League Cup hasn’t been so kind to Driver and he wants to put that right on Saturday by beating Inverness Caley in the semi-final and booking a return trip to the National Stadium in March.

The winger’s Hearts contract is up in the summer and he is well aware his time at Tynecastle could be coming to an end.

And after popping into Aberlady Primary School yesterday, just minutes from where he grew up in Gullane, the Hearts star revealed he is desperate to become a double cup winner this term.

The Jambos haven’t won the League Cup in 50 years but Driver said: “Not many Hearts players have won both the League Cup and Scottish Cup so to do it would be amazing.

“We had the experience of winning at Hampden last season and that was a major highlight.

“During my time at Hearts I had always wanted to win something. But at times it didn’t seem realistic.

“You get beaten in semi-finals and you think, ‘I’m never going to win anything here’. But once you’ve won one you want more.

“We’re out of the Scottish Cup so our main aim is to get to the League Cup Final and hopefully go on to win it. We want to repeat the experience we had in May.

“Saturday’s game is really massive and hopefully we can get the result we need.

“All my memories of the League Cup are bad ones. We played St Mirren in a semi-final at Fir Park and I gave the ball away before Billy Mehmet curled one into the top corner.

“So I have terrible memories of that game. Going into Saturday I want to wipe that from my mind.

“It was my first game in a long time after injury and it was a sandy pitch. That was a long night to say the least.

“But we go into Saturday’s game with high hopes. Hopefully we can use the experience of semi-finals and finals that we’ve picked up recently and use it to our advantage against Inverness.”

Another advantage the Jambos will have over their Highland opponents is a 10-1 ratio of supporters who will pack into Easter Road on Saturday.

With more than 10,000 tickets already snapped up for the Hearts section, they will vastly outnumber Caley’s support.

And Driver is adamant that can help John McGlynn’s side make the Final.

There’s also the small issue of having the chance to celebrate on the home turf of their bitter Edinburgh rivals. Driver said: “Of course it’s an advantage for us.

“The fans will be massive. They’ve been fantastic and the players know what they’ve done for the club.

“It’s time to go out at Easter Road and repay their faith. Hopefully, with their support on Saturday we can get them to another final at Hampden.

“That’s the only way we can pay them back so we’re going into the game knowing it’s vitally important.

“It will be strange having so many Hearts supporters at Easter Road.

“I hear they’ve taken tickets for the big stand, the old shed. I wonder what that will be like after the game!

“It will be weird having people leaning over to support me instead of the abuse I normally get there.

“We lost a semi-final against Motherwell a few years ago at Easter Road and the atmosphere was amazing.

“The Hearts fans, as well as the players, will get a buzz from going there even though we’re not playing Hibs.

“It’s a stadium where you always want to win so let’s hope the place is rocking.”

Driver has vowed to put the uncertainty over his own future to the back of his mind as he prepares for Saturday’s showdown. His only focus is on beating Terry Butcher’s Caley side who he rates as favourites for the tie.

Driver said: “If we could win the League Cup it would be a whole new experience for us. There’s a reason why winners win things – it’s because they like the feeling.

“We’ve got to try to get the mentality we had last year and try to do it again.

“But Inverness are on fire just now and we’ve stuttered over the last few games. Caley might go in as favourites but that goes out of the window in semi-finals.

“We played Celtic at Hampden last year and they were massive favourites but we got a result. Hopefully, if we’re underdogs on Saturday we can do the same.

“Caley have been fantastic this season and they’ve got to second in the SPL by playing some really good stuff. They have a load of players who have really shone.

“So we have to be careful and try to stop them playing. We’re going into a tough game but that should spur us on – we can use that.

“If they’re slight favourites, that will suit us.”

Taken from the Daily Record