Gary Mackay insists Hearts are already punching above their weight but are also closing the gap on Celtic and Rangers at the same time.
Club legend Mackay was disappointed to see his beloved side lose to the Light Blues in Sunday’s Scottish Cup final but still has the feeling they are getting closer to the big two. The Jambos are well clear of the rest of the clubs in third place and look set for European group stage football for the second time in three years, with a finish of fourth in between.
Their record appearance holder reckons they are well placed to build towards next season and look to get even closer to the big two. He told the Daily Record: “You look at the resources. Where Hearts are is probably punching slightly above our weight. But you have to keep aspiring to get closer to the top two. Unfortunately the economics of football now doesn’t allow it to happen as much
“But in the last five or six months our league form has been exceptional. It’s not far behind Rangers and Celtic. It’s a case of going again in the next five games and building towards next season.”
Despite that assertion, Mackay wasn’t too impressed with the performance at Hampden. He felt it was flat and they didn’t get at Rangers enough.
“I was disappointed,” he said. “I thought middle to front there wasn’t enough creativity.
“We didn’t get at Rangers as much as we would have liked to. It wasn’t great in an attacking sense. Maybe it’s because it’s a young group, one or two of them were in their first semi final, so it’s a big ask to go and play a club of Rangers’ standing.
“But ultimately if you’re in the game to win trophies – and I’m probably not the right person to talk to in relation to winning trophies – then you have to make sure you compete with them.
“That first goal was either going to allow Rangers to breathe or it was going to give Hearts the chance to make it squeaky bum time for Rangers. Unfortunately for Hearts they never gave themselves an opportunity to get that foothold.
“Everyone needs to be patient with Steven though. It’s a couple of semi final defeats but it’s his first full year in charge and even Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown – who famously won the cup in 1998 – had a couple of hard hits before that.
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