RECORD SHOWS I DID IT MY WAY!

Cathro takes a single-minded approach into tie fraught with danger for his embryonic side

WHEN an unlikely Scottish Cup run gathers pace well into the spring, there is scarcely a rosette-wearing club employee not lifted by the experience and carried along on the ride towards Hampden. And so it was in 2010 for Dundee United with hitherto reluctant caretaker manager Peter Houston’s reign in its infancy.

From his first ever victory as a manager at a frozen Firhill in the fourth round, through a thriller 3-3 Ibrox draw then replay win over champions Rangers and all the way to a comfortable sunshine success over Ross County in the May showpiece.

A club with a tortuous relationship with the competition had come through for only the second time in their history and who connected to United could forget the journey?

Well, if you are single-minded Tannadice academy manager Ian Cathro, it seems you barely noticed it at the time.

In another revealing insight into the approach of the new Hearts head coach, Cathro’s recollections of the road to Hampden are nonexistent. He was so immersed in his own work that anything occurring outside of that bubble did not register as significant enough for him to avert his focused gaze from improving United’s youth players — the job for which he was hired by Craig Levein at the age of 22.

When asked to describe the meaning of the Scottish Cup to him ahead of his tournament bow against Raith Rovers today, Cathro replied: ‘Like all of us, straight back to the childhood memories of the sunny afternoons, watching the TV all day. The same as everyone in that sense. I was there at United in 2010. I do remember that.

‘I wasn’t at the game, we must have had an Under-12s thing on that was obviously more important than the Cup Final that day.

‘Honestly, I literally would have thought whatever I was doing was more important. I mean that’s just for me the way it was. It’s one of the things that makes the next challenge that I take on at any point easier because I am just used to it.

‘I wrongly thought that the things I was doing then were the most important things. There has to be a huge swirl around the club about the Scottish Cup run but I just would have been so clear on whatever it was I was doing at that point.

‘I was there at the celebrations because I was invited. I think most people were shocked I was there and that I wasn’t working on something else! But I did go for a bit.

‘And I remember sitting down at one of the tables and just seeing what an impact it has on people. I loved that bit. I love the fact that hard work and success can give that to people.

‘You just take a split second and think: “That’s with everybody here for the rest of their lives. And then outside this little private room it’s with this city — or half of it, anyway — for the rest of their lives”.

‘When football can give that feeling and experience to people, then you feel privileged to have the chance to give that to people.’

Before setting out on the road to try and claim the club’s ninth Scottish Cup and bring that very feeling back to Tynecastle, Cathro has been able to absorb some tournament history within Hearts. The walls of the soon-to-be renovated Main Stand are adorned with images from past triumphs in the competition, including three within the last 20 years in 1998, 2006 and 2012.

Cathro hosted a lunch for his playing staff there last Wednesday to welcome four new signings to the fold as the early phases of demolition work began outside. Northern Ireland veteran Aaron Hughes, Callum Paterson’s right-back replacement Andraz Struna from Slovenia and Lennard Sowah, picked up from Hamilton, are there at least until the end of the season. Malaury Martin, a French midfielder recruited from Lillestrom, has penned a three-and-a-half-year deal.

Selling a new-look stadium to them and teasing them with the concept of decorating the interior with shots of their own glory days in maroon is all part of the package as, under Cathro, Hearts move on from the rebuilding job done post administration by Robbie Neil son.

Cathro said: ‘There are a lot of Scottish Cup images and these are the things that end up making the football club what it is — everything it has done, every big day it has had, every big moment and how people have lived through those things, remembered those things and repeat those stories.

‘And over the period of time I’m here, I fully intend being a part of writing new chapters.

‘Malaury is in for the longer duration compared to the other guys. And in that case, it’s more sharing a little bit of what our idea is and what we think we can do. Part of the player’s interest in Hearts is how much he believes in that.

‘Hopefully they decide that we can fight to try and achieve those things together. There is the positivity of the past couple of years but we want them to be looking forward as well. We won’t be sitting in this room in a year.

‘That will be different and it will feel different. The infrastructure and the facilities mean that the club will be in a very exciting position for people who can look forward.

‘The guys can project forward and see what can be possible and that makes it easier for us to get players.

‘But none of us are at a point where we can start looking too far ahead. It has to start now, so what we look to is the Raith game and what we think is the best way for us to win this game. It’s a cup tie and we all know what that means.

‘At the end of it, something has happened. And we know what we want.

‘We want to win, to play well and it’s that straightforward for us.’

‘I WASN’T AT CUP FINAL — WE MUST HAVE HAD UNDER-12s THING ON’