ROBBIE NEILSON accepts that Rangers’ superior squad depth was ultimately what decided Saturday’s Scottish Cup final but the Hearts head coach insists the capital club can close the gap between themselves and the Old Firm, given time.
The Tynecastle outfit started fairly well at Hampden at the weekend but flagged as the game wore on. They managed to hold out and force extra-time but two goals in quick succession for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men ensured the trophy would be taken back to Govan for the first time in 11 years.
It was two Rangers substitutes – Ryan Jack and Scott Wright – whose goals secured the cup and Neilson admits that Hearts have a big summer ahead as new faces arrive and others depart the scene.
“Obviously we’re very, very disappointed,” he said. “We’ve come so close. We’ve gone to extra time and we’ve not managed to do it. Sometimes you’ve just got to take it on the chin.
“You’ve got to applaud the team that’s won it and get back to it next season.
“The boys come back on June 21 and now it’s all eyes on recruitment. We’re losing John [Souttar, who has agreed a move to Rangers] and we’ve offered Peter Haring a new contract. We need to develop the squad. It’s important that we bring quality players in.
“I think against Rangers, the changes that Rangers could make, we didn’t quite have that level.
“We need to try and get that. We need to get a group of players that after 80 minutes you can change things and we can have a right go.”
Hearts’ third-placed finish in the Premiership secured a spot in the Europa League play-off and a minimum of eight European fixtures are guaranteed next term, thanks to the introduction of the Conference League.
There is prestige attached to continental football but perhaps more pertinently for Neilson and his recruitment strategy this summer, there is game-changing prize money and television revenue on offer.
A few extra quid certainly won’t harm Hearts’ transfer activity but Neilson insists that the club will have to get it right over a prolonged period if they’re to seriously close the gap with Celtic and Rangers.
He said: “Yeah, [there is money coming in]. We can be extensive in our recruitment, but we’re not going to get to that level. It will take four or five years to get there and that’s where we need to be realistic on it and say ‘what’s the next step?’
“The next step is ‘can we play in Europe on a Thursday night and can we win on Sunday? Can we rotate our squad?’
“If we can do that and we can get back into Europe, again and again, then we start to get what we need.”
The additional appeal of regular European football, Neilson adds, makes the club a more attractive prospect for potential new signings.
“It’s excellent,” he said. “That European football and the opportunity to come and play, even the guys we’re trying to get to re-sign… It is maybe even more important than recruitment to keep a hold of them.”
As Neilson reflects on the season, the former Scotland internationalist can do so with a sense of pride. Finishing third in the Premiership at a canter and competing in Scottish Cup finals seemed a very distant prospect in Gorgie not so long ago.
“We lost [on Saturday] but we’ve had a brilliant season,” Neilson said. “At the start of the season, we know there were people saying we were going to go back down again. There were people saying we weren’t going to make the top six.
“We’ve fought to get promoted in difficult circumstances, we’ve fought to get third, we’ve fought to get to the final. Next season, we fight to get third again, we fight to get Europa League and we fight to win this competition.
“Everybody wants to get back [to another final]. There’s huge disappointment to lose the game, but sometimes you have to take it on the chin. You have to see what you can do better. We’ll come back next year and try again.
“It’s disappointing but the big picture is we’ve secured Europe and got to a final.”
Few would dispute Hearts’ status as best of the rest in Scotland but Neilson will not allow the team to rest on its laurels. He believes his side could have something of a target on their backs when the new season kicks off but Neilson insists he will only be looking upwards, and not over his shoulder.
“Everybody will be pinning for us, but we’re not looking below us, we’re going to try and get as close as we can to the teams above us,” he said.
“We finished 13 points clear in third, the aim is: can we beat that? If we can beat that, can we get closer to Rangers and Celtic as well?
“When you play for Hearts, you’re always a target. Everybody ups their game. We take a massive travelling support to away games, it’s part and parcel. We just need to try and recruit well.
“I’ve enjoyed the season, it’s been great. But we’ve got a month off. I just want to get right back at it.”
