The Big Interview Ryan McGowan

“We’ve had the good times, now we must take our medicine!”

Ryan McGowan is a committed Hearts supporter.

He has flown 10,000 miles from Adelaide to Edinburgh to support the Jambos, actively campaigns for the Foundation of Hearts and spent thousands of pounds on season tickets he then gave away to local kids.

The Australian also credits the club with getting him into his national team and, through it, to the World Cup Finals in Brazil this summer.

And he has seen the Tynecastle club develop his younger brother Dylan into a Scottish Premiership regular.

Best of all, though, the man who now plays his football for Shandong Luneng Taishan in the Chinese Super League is unapologetic about his repeated use of the word ‘we’ when referring to Hearts.

It is significant, then, that he rejects the Jambos’ move to appeal the transfer embargo that has put their young players under such strain this season.

“I don’t think there should be any relaxing of the penalties, no,” said the 24-year-old, currently on a pre-season training camp in Turkey. “We have the punishment and we have to take it.

“It is difficult going to watch the young boys really, really struggling on the pitch. Every mistake they make seems to get punished and, as a consequence, they aren’t picking up any points.

“Because of the embargo, we are in a position where if we get a couple of injuries or suspensions, we will be talking about kids who have played a maximum of 10 games having to come in. But, at the end of the day, there is still a Heart of Midlothian club to follow on the Saturday.

“When you take a step back, that is what really matters. That is what the fans wanted. We have had the good times winning the Scottish Cup and getting to Finals and now we have to take our medicine.

“The downside is the defeats we are watching every week. They are not nice but they are part and parcel of football. If the young players can learn from them, they can come out the other side stronger. It can stand them in good stead.”

“What matters most,” argues the man who was a key part of Hearts squad until last year, “is that everyone at the club works together to come through the tough times.

“We are at the point where the players most need the fans to stick with them. There was always going to be that bit of a rush at the start of the year where it was all new. The fans were really into it, we got a good couple of results and everybody started to think: ‘Hey, maybe we can do this.’

“The reality, of course, was different. If you asked any team outwith the Old Firm to start at minus 15 points and stay up, they would struggle. The situation at Hearts meant it was going to be even tougher.”

Gary Locke was the man charged with trying to conjure up a miracle. As it has become clear that wasn’t going to happen, he has increasingly found himself a focus for criticism from disgruntled fans.

“Some of the stick Gary is getting is unfair,” argued McGowan, who believes the players simply aren’t able to carry out his instructions. “It is a very tricky situation the club are in, and there is not much he can do about it.

“When I have got to watch some of the games, I have sat in the team meetings and you can see what he wants to do. But if you take last Sunday’s match, which we lost to Partick Thistle, as an example, it just didn’t happen for us.

“The players tried to do what they were asked to do, but were unable to execute what they were asked to do. I think it just comes down to a little bit of inexperience.

“People sitting around me were saying this and that, but if they were to see behind the scenes, they might better understand how hard it is for the manager.”

The Australian knows from personal experience the frustrations of the manager are shared by the players.

“I speak to Dylan all the time and I know that, in one respect, he is enjoying it because he is playing all the time,” he said. “But, conversely, he is disappointed because of the way the results are going.

“I think he has improved a lot from the start of the season, and the same goes for a lot of the boys. If you take the derby against Hibs, the back four had to withstand a bit of an onslaught from Hibs but they were all good. They just need to get a bit more experience and a bit a more streetwise and not give away silly goals.”

A big part of the problem, Ryan concedes, is the lack of a few older heads to help the teenagers through.

“With Jamie Hamill suspended against Thistle, the experience we had was at either end of the park, with Jamie MacDonald in goal and Ryan Stevenson up front. As a result, I thought we really missed someone in the middle of the park to put their foot on the ball and boss the game.”

Like a typical fan, McGowan is nevertheless excited about what could lie ahead in the rest of the season.

“Don’t forget that despite everything that has happened, we are still 90 minutes away from a League Cup Final,” he said. “After losing to us in the semi-final last year, Inverness Caley Thistle will be under a lot of pressure going in.

“As long as everyone sticks in, players like Ryan Stevenson, Jamie Walker and Calum Paterson are capable of producing that bit of magic to get us through.”