Two months may have passed but the agony still keeps Stuart Findlay awake at night. The Hearts defender admits the nightmare of losing the Premiership title to Celtic in the 87th minute of the final day of the season is still all too real. Yet here Findlay stands just two days away from living out a childhood dream as Hearts prepare for a Champions League qualifier against Sturm Graz.
Title pain persists
Findlay said: “Definitely. When you look at the teams that we could have got and the teams we could get if we win this one, you realise that your achievements put you in the same bracket as the achievements of some top, top clubs across Europe. You don't have to tell me how disappointing last year was. I would be lying if I said I'm still completely over it. That's not the case. Sometimes you lie in your bed, you still think about that day at Celtic Park.”
Last season ended in the cruellest fashion, but Hearts’ remarkable Premiership challenge that saw them lead Celtic at the top for over seven months has delivered the Tynecastle club a shot at the Champions League. For Findlay, like every other member of Wouter Vrancken’s squad, this is a first ever crack at the elite competition.
New-look squad
Hearts will have to do it without the spine of the side that got them to this stage. Lawrence Shankland, Cammy Devlin and boss Derek McInnes have joined Rangers, while other key figures including Beni Baningime, Michael Steinwender and Frankie Kent have also moved on. Goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow is set to follow after the Graz double header. Jamestown Analytics have found nine replacements so far.
Findlay said: “I’d be lying if I said that we didn't feel the loss of the players that have left. We understand that they were massive players for us, there's no point in shying away from that. But you trust the new system at Hearts that the players that are going to come in are going to be able to do a good job replacing these guys.”
Playing through pain
Findlay played through the pain barrier in a bid to land Hearts the title in May. An ankle injury required surgery, but the former Oxford, Kilmarnock and Celtic stopper delayed going under the knife until the end of the season. Having put in a solid 60 minutes in Friday’s 2-1 friendly win over La Liga outfit Rayo Vallecano at Tynecastle, he’s ready to rock in Graz.
Findlay said: “I had a serious ankle injury when I was at Kilmarnock, I was out for about five months. I was told off the surgeon that there would be little fragments in there, a little bit of scar tissue and down the line it was something I would have to get tidied up. The season was obviously so big last year that it wasn't the time to miss any games and I played with a few injections just to get myself through to the end.”
New manager, new style
Vrancken has only had three weeks since being appointed as McInnes' successor to instil his game plan on his new-look squad. That features a lot more playing out from the back than the Jambos were used to last season.
Findlay said: “I’m 30 years old now, I've played in a lot of different places, played under a lot of different managers in different styles and I'm always happy to learn. The manager's been absolutely first class, he makes it very clear what he's looking for us to do. You know that there's no grey areas now, you know when you get the ball what your passes are going to be.”
He added: “I thought we built from the back really nicely, something we probably weren't known for or people gave us credit for last year and I think we showed on Friday that we can add that. We've also offered aggression in the press which we probably were known for.”
