Irish striker is relishing Friday’s Scottish Cup tie

Sixteen teams in seven different countries so far. Cillian Sheridan is in the twilight of a varied and fascinating football career at Highland League leaders Brechin City. Much intrigue surrounds his connection to a club he never represented. The one he will encounter this Friday night in the Scottish Cup fourth round.

The striker, now 35, is eagerly anticipating facing Hearts at Glebe Park in front of the BBC Scotland television cameras. He can lay claim to some rather unique Tynecastle history dating back to 2013 when the club were at their lowest ebb and in administration. Sheridan got involved and bought season tickets to donate to Foundation of Hearts as fans’ support grew.

The Irishman recalls it well when prompted by the Edinburgh News. Before their lapse into admin triggered a player registration ban, Hearts were one of several teams interested in signing him from Kilmarnock. Partly because he scored a hat-trick against them at Tynecastle Park that season.

“Hearts were going through their troubles at the time. My agent told me there was a chance I could buy two season tickets and donate them to the Foundation. There was no downside to it. It never came out in the press and I didn’t want to make a fuss about it,” explained Sheridan.

“I just thought: ‘You never know. At some point down the line, if something happens with Hearts or transpires with them, then there’s a bit of a connection there.’ Plus, it was maybe also a bit of a ‘thank you’ to Hearts because they helped me get my big move that year - they let me score so many goals against them over the previous couple of seasons.”

He finished that sentence with a chortle knowing he scored six times in total against Hearts for St Johnstone and Kilmarnock. He also scored for Hibs against East Fife during a trial in 2011, but rejected them to join St Johnstone on loan from CSKA Sofia. So, as a former Celtic player who scored for Hearts’ biggest rivals, he won’t expect salutes from the away support at Brechin on Friday despite his generosity towards their club.

“No, I wouldn’t say so. I’m not expecting to get applauded or cheered,” said Sheridan. “I got a bit of stick from Fraserburgh fans the other week so I expect to get a bit from the Hearts fans. Any time they shout at me I’ll just turn round and say: ‘No, I turned down Hibs.’”

The more lucrative move Sheridan referred to was to APOEL Nicosia in Cyprus, where he would work with the Scottish Cup-winning Hearts manager Paulo Sergio. Those goals against Sergio when has in charge in Gorgie during 2011/12 proved extremely profitable, but the forward still harbours some regret from playing under the Portuguese coach.

“I feel sad that I kicked on in Cyrpus after Paulo left,” he explained. “It was probably because, during my previous time abroad in Bulgaria, I was doing all the wrong things. I was going out and not being as professional as I should have been. When I got to Cyprus I thought: ‘Right, I know how now to be.’ So then I went completely the other way. Too much, actually.

“I remember Paulo saying to me: ‘You need to go out more. Go out with the team.’ Maybe he had heard what I was like. I probably went there trying too hard to be professional and not just being myself. I really did want to do well for Paulo. All the Portuguese and Brazilian boys there loved him. It just didn’t work out for him and the managerial cycle is quite volatile there, but I really liked him. I’m also good friends with Arvydas Novikovas because we played together in Poland. That’s my other Hearts connection.”

With Brad McKay, Kevin McHattie and Anthony McDonald all in Brechin’s squad, there are plenty other Tynecastle undertones to Friday’s tie. “I signed for the club just after the draw in December,” said Sheridan. “I know what it means to Brechin in terms of getting extra revenue in. It’s a chance for them to showcase themselves. When you drop down the leagues, you think that your chances of big games like this are gone. This is a nice bonus.

“I’m trying to do some media stuff in my spare time. I did Celtic TV at the start of the season and I’m doing some BBC stuff. You need to stick with it and keep getting your face seen. I’m willing to give anything a go. One of the things about joining Brechin was that I would get to see how the club operates, so I will get to work with Darren Taylor in the commercial department.

“I’m there as a footballer first and foremost, so I wanted to get in and get my feet under the table that way. I didn’t want to go poking my nose into other areas of the club right away. It’s things I haven’t thought of before. We train at night and I might not do anything during the day. I almost feel tired sitting about all day but other guys are out working all day, going home to have dinner and then off to training. It’s given me a lot more respect to how much dedication and effort it takes. These guys give up a lot of their time when it’s not their full-time job.”

Perhaps not Sheridan, but for many others at Glebe Park Friday will be the highlight of their playing days. They have nothing to lose against a Hearts team which has largely struggled in the Premiership this season. Being four tiers below will not daunt Brechin.

“Definitely. It’s something to enjoy,” said Sheridan. “Having been at the level where you are the higher club going away to play smaller teams at smaller grounds and the pitch maybe isn’t great, I always dreaded it. There is no upside, really. You are expected to win easily. Now, as the underdog, it does give you a chance you don’t really get too often in football. You can just enjoy the game and try to make the most of it. Brechin were on a good league run before I joined and a lot of the lads will relish the chance to test themselves at that level.”