We called it the doomsday letter back in the day. It’s probably an email now but when I played it was a wee white envelope that dropped through the door and might as well have dished out a big comic slap to the face when opened. It went something along the lines of ‘Hi Ryan, hope you're having a great summer. You're due to report back on X date - and bring your f****g running shoes’.
Okay the last sentence wasn’t there but we all knew it might as well have been, especially if it was signed by Jim Jefferies. You were told when to report and hell mend you if you were late.
I’ve thought quite a bit about those letters since Hearts were posted missing in the Champions League qualifier against Sturm Graz over the last fortnight. I said my piece live on radio after Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat to Sturm Graz at Tynecastle cemented an embarrassing 6-0 aggregate defeat.
Some people took my comments as an attack on manager Wouter Vrancken. I’m sorry if that was the case. If it sounded like I was singling out the manager I wasn’t. He only started the job on the day the players returned for pre season. But the truth is I didn't enjoy his interview after Tuesday's game where he blamed the 'physical part' and the lack of 'sharpness' for the heavy defeat. In my book that’s not acceptable. They're professional football players who earn a lot of money and that's their job, regardless of where they are, to be fit and strong.
Players should have been called back early
Yes it’s been a hell of a turbulent few months with the loss of Derek McInnes and the appointment of Vrancken right in the days before the players were due to return. But, regardless of whether there was a manager in place or not, if there were concerns over preparation time for the Sturm Graz games then the players should have been called back early. Graeme Jones as sporting director could have called that and you can’t tell me there weren’t enough people in that building to take sessions to have the players up and running for the time Vrancken was appointed.
This wasn’t about preparing for the Premier Sports Cup. This was the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE for goodness sake. And this will undoubtedly be some of those players’ first and last ever crack at getting to play in the competition. They should have sent out a memo saying, the manager's leaving, we know it's short notice but we’ve a Champions League qualifier to prepare for so the new date for starting pre-season is this. Yes some guys’ noses would be out of joint because some players are selfish.
But if I'm sitting on holiday with my wife, my kids, and I get a memo calling us in a bit early because of the Champions League then I’m there in a heartbeat. I could have been on the moon and I’d be back in a flash. Listen, the modern day players know to stay at a level of fitness over the summer. It’s not as if they’d have been away on an 18-30 holiday. It would have been about topping that up and ensuring they were on a level playing field strength and fitness wise with Sturm Graz. Unfortunately the manager says that wasn’t the case.
Aberdeen will target Hearts
And that absolutely won’t wash at Aberdeen on Saturday night. This game is huge. The season opener at a venue where Hearts haven’t won for 10 years. If you're Dons boss Stephen Robinson and the Aberdeen players watching that and hearing the manager say they weren’t fit enough then the first thing you're thinking is ‘lets go and steamroll them from the first minute’.
Hearts have looked so vulnerable defensively. Robinson will be targeting that especially with Kevin Nisbet already on seven goals, he's flying. It’s a huge game for Aberdeen and they’ll see this as a chance to put down a marker. And Hearts now have a major target on their back because of what they achieved last season.
A lack of warriors
The brass tacks of it is this - I don’t know if there's enough players left there with the fight, with that nastiness about them, to be able to handle that. I like the look of Amadou Ba-Sy and he absolutely has to start at Pittodrie to bring that physical element to the attack and give Claudio Braga someone to play off. Sabri Guendouz appears to have something about him although, a bit like my old team mate Mehdi Taouil, I fear he might flatter to deceive too often.
They all look decent football players. But Hearts need a spine of warriors and the problem is they've lost them all. I understand fans saying you need to trust in Jamestown. I just fear they’ve gone in too deep with the analytics. Time will tell. I sincerely hope I’m sitting at Christmas time holding my hands up admitting I got it badly wrong. But the season has started on the back foot and I fear it could quickly unravel.
