The 5 best Hearts midfielders of the last 50 years

The third part in our series looking back at the five best Hearts players in each position since 1970
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We have reached the midfielders in our week-long series analysing the five best Hearts players in each position. We have chosen the goalkeepers and defenders.

Rudi Skacel

Sometimes a player comes along who just gets it, they arrive and something just clicks. They are in the place they are meant to be. For Rudi Skacel that place was Tynecastle. From the moment he scored against Hibs at home in front of the away support, celebrating by telling them to leave, he was indoctrinated in Gorgie.

Rudi Skacel scored in two Scottish Cup final wins for the club. Picture: SNSRudi Skacel scored in two Scottish Cup final wins for the club. Picture: SNS
Rudi Skacel scored in two Scottish Cup final wins for the club. Picture: SNS
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Forget about seeing Skacel in a defensive position, it was in the final third he transformed like Mario collecting a mushroom to turn him Super. When he pulled back his left foot it was akin to Connor MacLeod drawing his katana sword in Highlander. Opponents knew they were in grave danger. Skacel smashed, squeezed, stroke and spun shots past helpless goalkeepers – 48 times in 109 appearances across two spells. Few were better than the bouncing shot he sent into the Hibs net in a 4-1 win during the 2005-2006 season. St Mirren were regularly tormented, while he struck three goals in two Scottish Cup finals.

His goals could be discussed for days, but more than anything it was the connection between player and supporters. When he was on the pitch the team knew they had a chance. He brought a personality and feeling to the club. He got Hearts.

Paul Hartley

It is sometimes easy to forget Paul Hartley played for Hibs. He even helped them win promotion back to the top-flight in 1999. He was a big Celtic fan and keen to play for his boyhood club, which he did when he left Hearts in 2007. Despite it all, he battled against suspicions to win over doubters, cementing his legendary status which remains today.

Paul Hartley became a Hearts legend despite having already turned out for Hibs. Picture: SNSPaul Hartley became a Hearts legend despite having already turned out for Hibs. Picture: SNS
Paul Hartley became a Hearts legend despite having already turned out for Hibs. Picture: SNS

Hartley didn’t have the physique of what you would expect of a box-to-box midfielder. But what he did have was immaculate timing, an excellent football brain, plenty of dig and a goal-scoring knack. He was a shrewd signing by Craig Levein in 2003 and by the time of Vladimir Romanov’s takeover of the club was a leader in the dressing room.

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No game encapsulates what Hartley brought to Hearts more than the 4-0 win over Hibs in the Scottish Cup semi-final in 2006. A fantastic midfield run and deft finish to open the scoring, a crafty whipped free-kick to score his second and a penalty to complete his hat-trick. Hearts fans loved his gallous nature on the pitch, especially the relationship with the Hibs support, but more than anything he was one of those trusted individuals, shown by his 100 per cent record from 17 penalties.

Gary Mackay

Gary Mackay fulfilled the dream of every Hearts fan when he pulled on the maroon jersey. He had the fortune of doing it on 737 occasions for the club across a 16-year spell. There was no place the midfielder wanted to be other than Tynecastle having been born and raised a Jambo, growing up in the vicinity of the ground.

No player has pulled on a Hearts top more than Gary Mackay. Picture: SNSNo player has pulled on a Hearts top more than Gary Mackay. Picture: SNS
No player has pulled on a Hearts top more than Gary Mackay. Picture: SNS

He saw it all at Hearts during his time, from the club being hoisted out of the doldrums to competing for trophies in the top-flight. Not winning a league title or cup with his boyhood club was the one thing missing from his time at Tynecastle, but there can be no doubting his influence and quality at the heart of the midfield. When he broke into the team he was a dangerous attacking midfielder before, with more experience, he became a leader at the heart of the action. His strong feeling for the club was clear to see every time he stepped onto the pitch, none more so than in Edinburgh derbies, helping Hearts dominate the fixture in the 80s and 90s.

Few could doubt his quality with four international caps, his only trophy being 1982 European youth championships. But it is in Gorgie where he is most remembered. For 16 years Hearts and Gary Mackay went hand in hand, and even after he had retired he played a vocal role in trying to stop the club leaving Tynecastle.

Colin Cameron

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Ex-Hearts assistant manager Billy Brown recently picked Colin Cameron as the player the current side need more than most. Under Jim Jefferies and Brown, he was the talisman, the difference-maker, the scene-setter, the heartbeat. He was a proper footballer. He was’t big and strong, but boy could he play. This diminutive figure was far quicker in the head than most and when you talk about a player having clear eyes and a full heart, it was Cameron.

Colin Cameron opened the scoring against Rangers in the Scottish Cup final from the penalty spot. Picture: SNSColin Cameron opened the scoring against Rangers in the Scottish Cup final from the penalty spot. Picture: SNS
Colin Cameron opened the scoring against Rangers in the Scottish Cup final from the penalty spot. Picture: SNS

There’s not a Hearts fan who would’ve swapped Cameron for any player in the world when he stood over the penalty spot against Rangers in the 1998 Scottish Cup win. It was just another big moment for the midfielder who had a phenomenal record of 59 goals in 189 games for the club, proving himself one of the best at breaking from midfield. Two of his very best came at Easter Road against Hibs. A half-volley to send the ball over a despairing Jim Leighton and a sumptuous smash after allowing the ball to roll across his body at the same end.

His importance was evident the season after the famous cup win. Hearts were struggling badly and were on a 12-game winless run in the league, dragged towards the relegation battle. Not long back from a serious injury Cameron drove the team to a win at Tannadice to stop the rot and signal a resurgence.

Neil McCann

For many Hearts fans, and some Hibs fans, the sight of Neil McCann running alongside the East Stand at Easter Road cupping his hand to his ear will be etched in their memory. It followed a deft, delicate, delicious flick of that left foot to give the visitors the lead in the derby. It was the winger in a nutshell, decisive, devastating, daring.

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It is hard to think of a more exciting individual to have turned out for Hearts than McCann. He is one of those players who drags fans out of the pub or off their sofa and along to the game to watch. He could so often be mesmerising as he was in the 1996 League Cup final. Hearts may have lost 4-3 but McCann was majestic. Alec Cleland had to be subbed at half-time having been tormented but Craig Moore didn’t fare much better, the winger sailing past him to set up a John Robertson goal. Despite the defeat McCann was awarded the man of the match where he had to pose with a Coca-Cola emblazoned bike with the face like a kid who has just received a Rubik's Cube rather than Playstation for his birthday.

McCann was one of the new breed of players signed by Jim Jefferies that helped turn the club. Now, he is the standard for all Tynecastle wingers to be compared to.