Rivals for a day but friendships will endure, says coach Locke

Thursday 17 May 2012

THERE will undoubtedly be many tales of acquaintances who will be separated by the Hampden divide on Saturday, with friends turning to foes for the duration of the Scottish Cup final.

Gary Locke stayed behind to become Paulo Sergio's right-hand man after Billy Brown, now at Hibs, left Tynecastle with Jim Jefferies. Picture: SNS

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Chris Jack

The Hibernian and Hearts fans will be kept well apart at the National Stadium but there will be a buffer zone of only a few feet between Gary Locke and Billy Brown as they take their places in the respective technical areas.

It is only a matter of months since the pair were striving for a common goal as part of the Tynecastle backroom team, before Jim Jefferies and Brown were sacked by Vladimir Romanov.Locke stayed on to work under Paulo Sergio, but Brown crossed the divide after his departure and will face the club he served with distinction this weekend, aiming to deprive them of Scottish Cup glory. "It just shows what can happen in football," Locke said. "I started the season as part of the backroom staff here with Billy, now I'm going to face him in a major final. It's great for both of us. I spoke to him the other day and wished him all the best. That will probably be the last time we speak to each other until Saturday."Obviously we both have to be as professional as we can. Whatever happens on Saturday, it will certainly not affect our relationship."We're both professional people. It's a big week for me and a big week for him, but the most important thing is the players, they're the people who matter on Saturday, and hopefully the Hearts players can go out and put in a performance and get us the result we're looking for."The departures of Jefferies and Brown, just weeks into the new Scottish Premier League season, caused disillusionment among the Tynecastle faithful as they waited to discover who would be the next man to accept the seemingly poisoned chalice role of manager.Their fears, on the field at least, have proven unfounded, with Sergio, against a backdrop of financial difficulties, leading Hearts to Hampden and to Europe. The final could prove to be his last match, but Locke is keen to see the Portuguese remain at the club."The cup final is all we're concerned about this week, then after that hopefully Paulo will be able to get his future sorted out," he said. "He's certainly saying he wants to remain here, which is great, it gives the club a bit of stability. I'm sure he'll get that sorted out after the final He's been brilliant. To get into Europe and into a major cup final, you would say it's been a successful season."He's great. I've got on really well with him and from my point of view it has been fantastic to be learning from a foreign coach with a different way of doing things. I have nothing but admiration for him and the way he's gone about everything this season."

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Rivals for a day but friendships will endure, says coach Locke

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