Hearts boss John McGlynn: Michael Ngoo will be an asset to Hearts

THE Hearts manager praises new boy's contribution after helping the Jambos secure their place in the League Cup Final

JOHN McGlynn last night hailed Michael Ngoo after his new signing helped fire Hearts into the League Cup Final – and to a precious £500,000 payday.

The on-loan Liverpool striker netted Jambos’ equaliser and hit a penalty in their dramatic shootout win over Inverness at Easter Road.

And his heroics came just 24 hours after he met his Tynecastle team-mates.

Every penny is vital to Hearts as they try to stay alive until the end of the season.

The money for reaching the final will help pay the wages until the summer and ease the pressure on club owner Vladimir Romanov.

McGlynn revealed he wasn’t expecting a thank-you call from the Russian-born Lithuanian but the Hearts gaffer was certainly grateful for having snapped up Ngoo.

He said: “Michael arrived on Thursday and only met the boys on Friday. He had one training session with us.

“He’d have been a surprise for the Inverness players as they would have expected to face John Sutton.

“There’s no doubt Michael was a handful and deserved his goal. He can be an real asset in the coming months.

“This will give the club a massive boost and will be great for us financially. I’m also delighted for our fans.”

Ngoo, 20, certainly did his bit and maybe even too much as Caley boss Terry Butcher (left) reckoned he could have been red carded.

But McGlynn put that to one side and heaped praise on his team who defied the dismissal of Scott Robinson for a two-footed lunge on Owain Tudur Jones to seal their place at Hampden.

McGlynn said: “We played very well with some really good football and created good chances. Ngoo hit a post with a header.

“It was a bit of a blow to go a goal down – they punished our mistake.

“But we quickly regained control. We had to dig in and we showed tremendous spirit. I was always confident we’d get an equaliser.

“We were on the front foot and always looked to take the game to Caley. We were rewarded for that.

“It wasn’t easy when we went down to 10 men. I thought Scott was in control of himself when he went
in for the tackle. But we had good performers all over the pitch and remember we had seven Under-21 players.

Liverpool loan star Michael Ngoo draws Hearts level against Inverness

“The midfielders were excellent, although our final ball could have been better.

“Andy Webster played well and young Fraser Mullen was excellent at right-back. He gave us great deliveries from set plays.”

McGlynn (right) will lead Hearts out against either Celtic or St Mirren on March 17.

He is looking forward to the chance to win the trophy for the first time in 50 years.

He said: “It will be a very proud moment. To get to Hampden after only being manager here for seven or eight months is special.

“There’s been a lot of negativity this season and a lot of that has been our own doing.

“This will give them something to look forward to and it’s why the fans support a club like Hearts. We want to do as well as we possibly can and we will be determined to win another trophy.

“It will be great to be back at Hampden for the fans after the Scottish Cup victory there last season.”

Dejected Butcher insisted Ngoo shouldn’t have been on the park to score after a series of fouls.

But he congratulated Jambos on their success. The Caley boss said: “Good luck to Hearts in the final.

“John McGlynn had a bold team selection. They showed great desire for their manager and made it difficult for us.

“We had enough chances to win two or three games but didn’t take them and that’s not been like us.

“Billy McKay missed chances and Andrew Shinnie missed one at the end. It was cruel to lose on a penalty shootout and Philip Roberts missed the final kick. But there is no blame or finger pointing.

“What I did think was Ngoo committed more fouls than all the players put together – and that was after he was booked.

“He got stuck in and was a handful. I’d loved to have played against him. Richie Foran was also probably lucky not to be sent off.

“It was a meaty cup tie and plenty of players got stuck in. It was blood and thunder at times. It was rousing stuff.

“But we move on. It hurts and I said to the players I don’t want this feeling again. I don’t like losing. I think a fire extinguisher went missing off the wall in the dressing room.

“The players will learn a lot from this, as will myself and the backroom staff.

“I’m sorry for our fans that we haven’t been able to give them the chance to go to Hampden for a final. They made a great deal of noise and got behind us but it wasn’t our day.”

Taken from the Daily Record