Closing in on half a decade in maroon, Michael Smith just isn’t ready for it to be over yet.
Out of contract come the summer, the 34-year-old defender has made it clear he wants to stick around longer. Now, it’s over to Hearts.
No official discussions have taken place as yet, but Smith would prefer a swift decision for the sake of his family. The Northern Ireland international is quite adamant he doesn’t want to play his football anywhere else.
"I haven't spoken about it, no,” Smith said. “I'll just see where it takes me. If the gaffer fancies me here for another year, then so be it. Everyone knows my opinion of the club; I love it here and I would love to stay. If it's not to be then it's not to be. I will still give my all for the shirt.
"At my age and with a family, it would be nice to sort my future out sooner rather than later. At the end of the day, it isn't my decision. I'll leave that up to the people who make those decisions. If they want me here, that's brilliant and I'd be really happy with that. If they think it's time for me to move on, I'll be disappointed, but I can take it on the chin.”
At least one driving force behind his desire to stay is a feeling of unfinished business. Smith helped Hearts ease into the Scottish Cup quarter-finals with victory over Hamilton Accies on Friday night, taking him a step closer to a fourth final appearance. The right-back, however, has lost all of those previous three, and he would much rather his time in Edinburgh does not wind down to a conclusion without some silverware to show for it.
“We stood up to the test at Hamilton and that’s what we’ve been asked to do,” Smith said. “Now, we’ll have on eye on the draw on Monday. Whoever we get, we’ll be looking to win the next round. Most of the lads have been to the final now. A few haven’t.
“I’ve lost three now so I’ve got a burning desire to win a trophy here and try and win that Scottish Cup. We had a good season last season finishing third but just couldn’t cap it off with the cup.
“It was disappointing. We had Europe this year and it was a tough start with a lot of games at the start of the season. But we’re picking up momentum and we’re churning out the wins. Let’s see where it takes us.
“Everyone knows it’s hard to get there especially with some of the big teams still in it. So, we’ll see who we get in the next round and take everyone as they come.”
Over the years, Smith has found Celtic and Rangers standing in the way of this trophy.
In the 2019 final, Hearts deservedly led through Ryan Edwards before Odsonne Edouard’s double turned the occasion on its head. The following year, the Tynecastle side – then in the Championship – took Celtic all the way to penalties, only to come up short at the very end.
Last year, they again forged a path to the final but were unable to stop Rangers securing a first Scottish Cup in 11 years, despite forcing extra-time.
It’s the penalty shootout in 2020, however, which sticks in Smith’s mind. Delayed by seven months and played inside an empty Hampden at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hearts looked dead and buried within half an hour when Celtic raced into a two-goal lead. The underdogs rallied and even stood on the brink of glory when Craig Gordon saved from Ryan Christie, but fate conspired against Smith and his team-mates once more.
“Which one hurt the most? The penalties for me,” Smith said. “It was tough. We obviously got ahead in the penalties and you’re thinking it could be your year.
“It wasn’t to be but it’s a team game and we pick each other up and we made it to another final after that. So we know we can do it, we just need to be a little bit better on the actual day.”
