McGlynn takes Heart from past
Hearts on Friday drew English opponents in the play-offs for the
second year running with the first leg at Tynecastle on August 30
and return at Anfield seven days later.
Hearts were three goals down inside 27 minutes last season on
their way to a 5-0 home defeat before a youthful side restored some
respectability with a goalless draw against a second-string Spurs
outfit in north London.
McGlynn took over from Paulo Sergio this summer amid huge
cutbacks to the squad, with an experienced spine to the team
complemented by many of the youngsters who performed at White Hart
Lane.
And he will make sure as much is possible is learned from that
game when they meet Liverpool.
“It’s a similar type of tie,” he said. “Unfortunately for Hearts
it kind of died very, very quickly.
“There was a great build-up and atmosphere at Tynecastle but the
way Tottenham went about their business, the game was finished very
quickly.
“Hearts restored their pride by going down and getting a
draw.
“I would hope we would learn from that. We have obviously lost
players over the summer so it will be a different type of team, we
have some younger players in the team but I hope we would learn
from it.
“We will watch Liverpool and learn as much as we can.
“I would hope we could do enough in the first tie to keep it
very much alive.
“You can do that in different days, we certainly wouldn’t want
to be gung-ho or be exposed but if you want to get through you
probably need to take a lead to Anfield.”
There was certainly no dread about facing one of the top seeds
in the draw among McGlynn or the Hearts players despite the painful
memory of that Tottenham defeat.
Midfielder Scott Robinson said: “It’s brilliant, that’s the tie
we wanted. Liverpool is a dream tie.
“You either want a big team like Liverpool or someone you think
you’re going to get through against.
“But we’ll do the best we can.”
The 20-year-old added: “I played in the second leg against
Tottenham at White Hart Lane and we got a good result.
“Maybe it wasn’t their strongest team but we got a good result
and it was a massive occasion.
“If we can get a better result in the first leg it would be
great to go to Anfield and have something to play for.”
The draw overshadowed preparations for Hearts’ first encounter
with Hibernian since their 5-1 William Hill Scottish Cup win over
their derby rivals.
Ahead of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash at Easter
Road, Robinson said: “It’s a massive game for us but we can’t take
our eyes off the derby.
“We have got to be professional and take care of the derby
first.
“We expect the same old Hibs in any derby match, they will be up
for it and looking to make their fans happy.
“I’m not sure how many Hibs fans will turn out but they will be
right behind the team.
“We need a win. We want to get six points on the board and get
momentum.”