At times in Edinburgh derbies, it feels like Hearts and Hibs are playing with a bomb instead of a ball. To say these games can be a bit frantic is an understatement.
So having a player who can calm everyone down by putting their foot on it will be vital at Easter Road this afternoon. And when it comes to composure, there are few better in the Premiership than Barrie McKay. Even while there’s bedlam all around him, he’ll probably still look as if he’s got all the time in the world.
That was certainly the case with the Hearts star’s goal on the opening day of the league season last week against Ross County at Tynecastle. It was a thing of beauty – but for Craig Halkett it wasn’t a surprise. The big centre-back came through the ranks at Rangers with McKay a decade ago, shortly before the winger broke into the Ibrox first-team.
Since then they’ve been on their own footballing journeys which eventually led them to Tynecastle. At 27, they are now two of the most experienced pros in Robbie Neilson’s dressing-room.
Halkett sees a different McKay to the kid who burst on to the scene at Rangers. But the touch, control and vision are still the same.
That’s what makes him one of the most skilful players Halkett has ever played with. And he insists McKay’s quality on the ball will be absolutely crucial to Neilson’s men in Leith today.
Ahead of the season’s first Edinburgh derby, Halkett said: “Technically, Barrie is right up there with the very best I have played with. He can do stuff with the football other players can’t do. In terms of technique he is right up there with the best.
“Forward players are judged on their decision making and end product. Barrie’s a player who gets his decisions right more often than not. That’s why he’s been so good for us.
“He creates, gets assists, he moves opposition defenders into places they don’t want to be. He brings so much to the team. Barrie is six or seven months older than me and played in the year above at Rangers.
“But I played in a few games with him when I was younger. I trained with him a lot so I’ve known him for quite a while.
“He was really good at Rangers when he broke into the first team. But he has gone away and played down south for a few years. He learned a lot there. Since he came back I’ve noticed a big difference in him.
“He’s just more experienced, you can see he learned the game down there. You always need someone like Barrie in a derby.
“In these matches the first 20 minutes are always quite frantic and end to end.
“But if you’ve got boys in the team like Barrie, as well as Liam Boyce, Lawrence Shankland, who can slow it down and make sure we’re in control of the ball, it’s brilliant for us.”
When it comes to high-level quality, Halkett has compared playing alongside McKay to being a team-mate of Kenny Miller at Livingston. That’s how highly he rates the winger who, ominously for Hibs, started the campaign with a sublime finish in the 2-1 win over County.
Halkett said: “Last season it was spoken about that Barrie maybe didn’t score enough goals. But he has started this season flying and scored on the opening day. His first touch is right up there with the best. It’s great, as a defender, to have someone in your team who can create something out of absolutely nothing.
“You saw that with his goal against Ross County. It was a good pass up the park but the touch and finish was so difficult – yet Barrie made it look really easy.
“You just know if you get it up to him, he’ll do something with it. As a centre-back, I’m always trying to keep clean sheets.
“But you need forward players to create as much as possible at the other end and he’s someone who does that.
“Technically, he’s one of the best I’ve played with. It’s hard to think of anyone as good, off the top of my head. At Livingston I played with Kenny whose experience and ability in front of goal as a natural finisher was excellent. But they’re obviously
different types of players.”
Halkett may be a Glasgow boy but after three years at Tynecastle he’s well aware of what the derby means to Hearts
supporters.
He admits it’s more intense than he expected it to be. That’s why he’s desperate to make sure the bragging rights stay in Gorgie this weekend.
He said: “The derby is probably bigger than I expected it to be. That has come with how long I’ve been here.
“When you first come in you know it’s a rival match and what’s at stake. But once you play in it and realise how passionate both sets of fans are, you know it means so much to so many people.
“Coming from Glasgow, it was more the Old Firm derby that caught my eye but I always watched the Edinburgh games as a spectator.
“Now I feel it whether we win or lose. You see stuff and read stuff – you know what it means to the people here.
“You see how many fans we’ll take to Easter Road this
weekend and that gives you that wee bit extra drive to do well.”
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