John Rankin will always appreciate the message of support he got from Robbie Neilson during Hamilton’s losing run.
The Accies boss revealed Hearts counterpart Neilson was quick to get in touch when his side were in the midst of a seven-game losing streak in the Championship. And Rankin, who played alongside Neilson at Dundee United and worked under him as a coach at Tynecastle, admits that meant a lot.
But that won’t stop him trying to get the better of his old pal when Hearts head to New Douglas Park on Scottish Cup duty. Rankin, in his first managerial job, said: “I was a former team-mate of Robbie’s and he has been great with me. So much so that this season when results hadn’t been going so well he had been in contact and was a good support mechanism for myself. And after a poor result it was a text message I thoroughly appreciated.
“I’ve always admired Robbie as a professional footballer and as a person. He’s a great guy and I’m not surprised he’s a successful manager now. Having taken that time, when you come off the back of a sore one, and to share the fact he’s in a club in Europe but suffering sore defeats as well, it lets you know you’re not alone and there are people thinking of you.
“I don’t get too down but having that support outwith certainly helped. During those times you can start to doubt yourself but if that happens then it’s when the problems can arise.
“Neither myself nor the players began to doubt. We knew we were doing the right things, it was just patience and time. Now we’re getting a wee bit back but there’s still a lot more to come.
“We’re still bottom of the league. We’ve had six games undefeated but three are in the cups, so we need to continue to change our league form and turn it around.”
Rankin is grateful to Hearts for giving him his chance as a coach but he will relish coming up against his former employers and admits it is a free hit for his players. He said: “My education as a coach was at Hearts and I absolutely loved my time there but to progress I felt I had to move on.
“It doesn’t feel strange as I’ve come up against former employers plenty of times. It’s a free hit for us, the pressure is not on us and everyone will have Hearts as massive favourites.
“So it’s one the players can go and express themselves, be relaxed, play with a smile on their face. They can go and show how good they are and that they can compete with a team at the top level.”
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