Deila's Departing - Next Please

THE Ronnie Roar will shortly become a near-forgotten whisper. Back he will go to the fjords, well-recompensed for his spell in Glasgow, and, hopefully with a cracking book to write.

Peter Lawwell and the High Heid Yins will find another manager, and, with normal service resumed, both Bigot Brothers in the top flight, Scottish football will settle down to more mediocrity. Yawn.

Just a mischievous thought. Suppose, traumatised by their Scottish Cup semi-final defeat, the Celtic squad falls apart over the five remaining games of the season - can Aberdeen keep it together sufficiently to close that eight-point gap and overhaul them?

Ah hae ma doots, not so much about Celtic collapsing, that could still happen, but more-so about Aberdeen's ability to take advantage of any such collapse.

Appointing Deila was a brave move. Clearly Celtic has decided it hasn't worked. Therefore, the High Heid Yins at Parkhead MUST get their next appointment right.

For me, going anywhere other than David Moyes would be stupid. He is, as far as I can see, the best guy out there, immediately available. As for re-appointing Neil Lennon. Well, Glasgow will be a tinder box next season, with the Rangers Tribute Act in the top division - why risk throwing petrol on things?

I appreciate Lenny is older and wiser, but, are the nutters who despise him?

Any way, forget a new manager, what Celtic desperately needs is A Fan On The Park - a Celtic supporter who appreciates what those masses of supporters want to see from the players, and who appreciates the expectations on the men wearing the Hoops. That is what the current squad so-obviously lacks and is crying out for.

SIXTY years ago today, as Hearts' team bus left Tynecastle for Hampden, on the morning of Saturday, 21 April, 1956, everyone on-board knew, the club had not won the trophy for exactly 50-years. Indeed it had been 49 years since they had been in the final.

Dave Mackay - Man of the Match in the 1956 Scottish Cup Final 

Hearts first won the trophy in 1891, beating Dumbarton 1-0. In 1896 they had won the first all-Edinburgh affair, beating Hibs 3-1; then, in 1901 they had edged-out Celtic 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller. Two years later they were back in the final, losing 2-0 to Rangers, following 1-1 and 0-0 draws, before, in 1906 they beat Third Lanark 1-0 at Ibrox.

In 1907 they took their defence of the trophy all the way to the final, where they lost 3-0 to a Celtic team adding the Scottish Cup to the third of their six straight League Champioinships. Since then, Hearts had been in seven semi-finals, and lost them all. Now, back in their first final since 1907, and facing the same opponents, Celtic, might it be time for a change?

Hearts' hopes were high, however. Their route to the final – a 3-0 home win over Forfar Athletic, another Tynecastle canter, putting five past Stirling Albion without reply, a 4-0 hammering of league champions-elect Rangers in the quarter-final, again at Tynecastle, and, after a 0-0 draw, a 3-0 semi-final replay win over Raith Rovers the Gorgie men had reached the final without conceding a goal.

Celtic, in their third successive final, and having overturned the 1955 final result by beating Clyde 2-1 in their semi-final, had got to Hampden via a 2-0 win at Morton, a 3-0 win at Ayr United, a 2-1 Parkhead win over Airdrie, before that semi-final triumph.

But, Celtic had injury problems for the final, and even the Glasgow-published newspapers made Hearts the favourites. Celtic would be without centre-half and captain Jock Stein and outside-right Bobby Collins, and, as more than one newspaper pointed-out, they lacked the reserve strength to accommodate the loss of these two important players.

The Celtic board, or more-precisely Chairman Robert Kelly, picked the team then, and when they named their team – Dick Beattie; Frank Meechan and Sean Fallon, youngster Eric Smith, Bobby Evans, captain in place of Stein, and Bertie Peacock; youngster Billy Craig – making his solitary Scottish Cup appearance for the club, Mike Haughney (usually at right-back), Neil Mochan, Willie Fernie and Charlie Tully, even the most-committed Celtic fans were shocked at the lack of experience down the right.

Hearts lined-up at full-strength for the time, with skipper Bobby Parker a long-term absentee through injury. Their tea was: Willie Duff in goal, Bobby Kirk and Tam Mackenzie at full-back, the half-back line of Dave Mackay, skipper Freddie Glidden and John Cumming, with teenager Alex Young and Under-23 cap Ian Crawford on the wings, outside the immortal "Terrible Trio" of inside forwards Alfie Conn, "King" Willie Bauld and Johnny Wardhaugh.

Crawford, after Bauld had done the spade-work, shot Hearts in front after 20 minutes, with some reports crediting the then notorious "Hampden Swirl" as playing a part in Celtic 'keeper Dick Beattie's failure to deal with the shot. The same player, from a Bauld cross, made it 2-0 three minutes after half-time, but a mistake by Duff, with that "Swirl" again being blamed, was punished by stand-in inside forward Haughney to reduce the leeway.

John Cumming is led off with a head cut during the 1956 Scottish Cup final

Hearts suffered something of a crisis of confidence at this point, but, driven-on by Man of the Match Mackay, and by Cumming, who made light of a cut head: "Blood doesn't show on a maroon shirt" was his comment; they regained the initiative and, with ten minutes left, Alfie Conn ensured the cup would be going to Edinburgh by scoring Hearts' third goal.

There was no way back for Celtic, with referee Bobby Davidson, shortly afterwards blowing his whistle to signal the end of Hearts' half century of Scotish Cup heartache.

Hearts had won the League Cup the previous season, the club's Golden Era was now under way. League titles would follow in 1958 and 1960 – but, incredibly, they would have to wait another 50-years, after final heartache in 1965, 1976, 1986 and again in 1996, until that remarkable penalty shoot-out win over Gretna in 2006, before world football's oldest trophy would return to Tynecastle.

Only skipper Glidden, now 87 and Alex Young, the baby of the cup-winning side, are still alive. Sadly, neither is in the best of health, but, surely, today of all days, they will recall their part in ending their club's lengthy wait for a capital Cup collection.