Exclusive:Oisin Colour Scene: McEntee explains his Hearts euphoria despite Celtic family leanings

The sight was a joy to behold. Oisin McEntee, arms outstretched, mouth agape, running through the pouring rain before knee-sliding in front of Hearts fans at Celtic Park. The Irishman’s powerful header putting his team 2-0 ahead against the Premiership champions was special and he made sure to enjoy the moment. The smile is not far from his face talking about it in the aftermath of a seismic victory.

Family back home in Ireland are experiencing mixed emotions. Many of them support Celtic and didn’t enjoy seeing their team lose 2-1, consequently trailing league-leaders Hearts by three points. However, there is pride at McEntee’s achievement. He subtly pulled away from Celtic’s Benjamin Nygren as Harry Milne delivered a deep corner towards the back post on 64 minutes. Despite the flight of the ball going against his balance, McEntee rose to bullet a header past the despairing dive of Kasper Schmeichel.

It was his second goal in maroon and he may never score a better or more important one. Hence that joyous celebration. “I noticed all the fans were going crazy in the away end so I wanted to go and celebrate with them,” said McEntee, speaking exclusively to the Edinburgh News. “It was absolutely unbelievable with all the away fans down at that side. It was a big goal for us and it felt absolutely amazing. You always want to score but it was unreal in a stadium like this in front of all the away fans. An incredible feeling for me.”

Celtic-minded family members will simply need to suck it up. “Yes, I have a good few among my family and friends. It was nice to get the goal but I’m sure they aren’t too happy about it back home. I had a few messages,” he smiled. “People are happy for me and all that so it’s just extra special. They all want me to do well back home so it’s nice to get a goal and a win at Celtic Park. It was a really good day.

“It was always going to be tough going there as an away team. The feeling was we didn’t have a lot of the ball in the first half but we were quite comfortable with that. We didn’t really give up any big chances. That was kind of what we wanted to do. We feel that we probably could have used the ball better in the first half but, with the emotion in the game, everyone put in a shift off the ball.”

McEntee was shunted into midfield to good effect on Sunday having spent the entire season at right-back so far. Central midfield is his preferred position, although he is versatile and adaptable enough never to complain about playing elsewhere. “When I came here, I knew it was a big club and I just wanted to play as many minutes as possible,” he stressed. “Wherever I’m put, all I want to do is just play football so I don’t really mind. As long as I’m starting and getting game time for a team like Hearts, I’m happy.”

He doesn’t pay too much attention to outside noise suggesting he should occupy a certain role. “Not really because, throughout my career, I’ve always played in different positions. Not everyone is going to be happy. At the end of the day, the outside noise doesn’t matter. You just have to focus on your game, try to do your best, and play as many minutes as possible.”