Aidan Denholm's goalscoring Scottish Cup exploits and 5-1 celebrations help him prepare for Spartans v Hearts

The young Tynecastle midfielder is eager to help his club build a cup run

Few 20-year-old footballers can claim any kind of Scottish Cup history, so the Hearts midfielder Aidan Denholm is part of an elite group ahead of this weekend's fourth round. He makes the short journey across Edinburgh to face Spartans knowing exactly what to expect, how the opposition play, the surroundings and what is at stake when League Two meets Premiership.

Denholm is the proud owner of genuine Scottish Cup memories. He scored in the competition as a 17-year-old whilst on loan at Berwick Rangers and recalls the pressure of men's cup football from that day. Rewind further to his childhood and he still remembers charging around the garden with pals celebrating every time Hearts scored in their 5-1 victory over rivals Hibs in the 2012 final.

There is no chance of him failing to understand or appreciate what Saturday at Ainslie Park means. Denholm faced Spartans last season whilst playing for Hearts B team in the Lowland League, which the Pilton club won to gain promotion to the SPFL. Therefore, he might hold an advantage over many of his Tynecastle colleagues in the context of this weekend's tie.

"We have to be very professional. Spartans are doing very well this season and I remember playing against them last year," said Denholm in an exclusive Evening News interview. "They are a good, strong team. They have a coach [Dougie Samuel] who is very experienced as well. I'd say they are a very physical team. They have big Blair Henderson up front, who causes problems, but they do like to play with the ball as well.

"It's not just long balls, they do have tricky wingers so we have done our homework on them. My experience helps me and gives me a wee bit of an advantage. Most of the other boys haven't played at Spartans. You are quite close to the fans and the surroundings will be new to some players, but I'm sure we will all be ready.

"It's not just a case of us going out there and it's easy, all done and dusted. It will be completely different. We will need to get the sleeves up because we will be in for a fight right from the start. With the quality we've got, if we get the ball down and play, and if we get an early goal or something, we can make it an enjoyable afternoon. We have to be respectful of Spartans and bear their form in mind."

Opponents' strengths and weaknesses will be at the front of his mind, other Scottish Cup thoughts pushed to the back. Denholm scored a 20-yard screamer in the second round for Berwick against Stirling Albion in 2021 and is keen to ensure that memory is eclipsed this year. "It was my third start for Berwick and I was just trying to get a run in the team," he recalled. "I can't speak highly enough of Berwick, it was brilliant there. Even though we lost that game to a last-minute goal, there is something different playing in the Scottish Cup.

"That was my first real taste of it. You can tell boys in the changing room are wanting to get through to that next round. It was proper men's football. I had played under-18s and reserves and that was my first experience of the Scottish Cup. It was probably one of my better goals and it gave me useful experience.

"Some of the other boys who are young don't have that. Not many players have played in the Scottish Cup at this age so it's good to have a taste of it. I haven't been reminding anyone that I've already scored in it," he laughed. "We knew this would be the first game coming back after the winter break so we are all looking forward to it."

It is 12 years since Hearts lifted the famous silverware with the Victorian footballer on top. That 2012 Scottish Cup final remains the greatest day in the Edinburgh club's history, and perhaps one of the greatest of young Denholm's early years. He was an eight-year-old Tynecastle fan at the time, but fully aware of what the day meant.

He watched the match on TV with friends Reece Hope, Alex Lamb and Jacob Comerford. All four were involved with the Riccarton youth academy at the time. "I was at Hearts then. Four of us were picked up at Edinburgh City and the four of us watched that final together. It was surreal and the memories then were great," recalled Denholm.

"I was meant to go to the final but someone in my family fell ill so I didn't get a chance to go. I remember watching it on the telly. Every time there was a goal, we all ran out celebrating in the garden. It was amazing. I spoke to Gowser [Ryan McGowan] because he stays quite close to me and he scored in that final. I drop a joke in now and then.

"If we can get past this first tie and build some momentum this year, I would love to see us win it. That would be a dream come true as a Hearts fan. It's been 12 years since we've won it but we have to deal with Spartans first and be professional."

Hearts have good reason to try to regain momentum after an impressive run before the winter break. They won eight of 12 games between the start of November and start of January. The second half of December was especially impressive following a 2-1 loss at Aberdeen. Subsequent wins over Celtic, St Mirren, Hibs and Livingston helped Steven Naismith's side cement third place in the Premiership

"After Aberdeen, the result spoke for itself," admitted Denholm, mindful that Hearts led 1-0 at half-time that day before losing in stoppage-time. "I spoke to you after that game and you could tell there was a real desire to go and prove a point at Celtic Park. I think we did that. We didn't want to be up and down, we wanted to find consistency and we did that.

"We had really good results after that Aberdeen game. We could maybe have done better in the 2-2 draw against Ross County but we did have a lot of games at that time. The boys dug in. I think we used almost everyone in the squad and, personally, it was good to be back involved each week. I think I did fairly well. Now I want to get back into the team after the break and keep my place."

There is plenty opportunity to do so. The Hearts fixture list denotes six games in three weeks starting with Spartans. "I want to be playing games as much as I can. If that isn't starting, then I'll come on and do my job," said Denholm. "I felt I did fairly well against Livingston when I came on for the last 10 minutes. It's about trying to catch Naisy's eye in training so that he thinks: 'You know what, he's ready again. Let's get him in.' I will try to be ready. If I'm not starting then I'll be ready when called upon."