McEntee stands on the cusp of history

Feature

Kevin Óg Carney

Celtic fans, look away now.

Since arriving in Edinburgh last July, Oisín McEntee has been living the dream as a Jam Tart. A couple of weeks ago, he did the unthinkable and nodded a brilliant goal to beat the Celts on their home turf.

The 25-year old professional soccer player hails from Shercock and is on the cusp of creating history with Heart of Midlothian FC – otherwise known as Hearts.

With less than a dozen games left to play in this year’s Scottish Premier League, McEntee’s maroon and whites sit on top of the table and have been quoted as recently as this week as 11/8 favourites by one bookmaker to win the club’s first top title in Scotland since doing the needful in the 1959-60 season.

At present, Hearts are at the summit by dint of having amassed 60 points from their 28 games played to date. In second place are Rangers with 56 points to their name from 28 games played. In third place are the defending champions, Celtic, with 54 points picked up from 27 games.

Should Hearts go the distance, the enormity of their achievement can be gauged by the fact that the club has only ever won the top league in Scotland four times since it was founded in 1874 and also by the fact that no team has won the league apart from the Old Firm since Aberdeen (under Alex Ferguson) triumphed in the 1984-85 season.

“I'm loving it,” McEntee told the Anglo-Celt in the comfort of the reception area of Hearts FC.

“Obviously it’s so different here compared to my time in the lower leagues when it was tough at times. When I signed for Hearts, it was a massive move for me. I was delighted to get the move and with a three year deal. I still have two and a half years left but I’m not one for long term planning at all. I just look at the challenge associated with the here and now and concentrate on staying in the team.

“Edinburgh is a great city and coming to a club like Hearts, you can see how good the infrastructure of the club is and the training ground. Everything is top class and I appreciate being here a lot. I absolutely love it.”

Sadly, things this past couple of weeks haven’t quite been so lovely for McEntee at his home-from-home. Injury – the bane of his soccer career – has knocked him for six once more.

A couple of weeks ago, the powerful Hearts right-back had to retire injured after only 12 minutes of his team’s clash with Rangers at the latter’s Ibrox ground. He hasn’t been able to line out for Hearts since and wasn’t even on the bench for their 1-0 win at home to Falkirk last Saturday.

The sad fact is that ever since crossing the Irish Sea nine years ago to begin his professional soccer career, McEntee has been hit by a series of setbacks resulting from hip, shoulder, hand and hamstring trouble.

“I have had five operations on my hips over the years,” McEntee lamented.

“At 17, I had a really bad shoulder injury and had to undergo reconstruction work on it and then at 20 I had to have an operation on my hand, then I had a hamstring off the bone injury.

“All those injuries were very frustrating for me when I was younger. I kept getting injuries and needing surgeries and more surgeries.

“When young players suffer those kind of injuries, they keep you out of that key development phase and they (injuries) keep you on the sidelines which is the last place any player wants to be.”

The Hearts faithful will be praying that the 'erstwhile Ireland U21 Ireland international will be back on the field sooner rather than later to help them go where no Hearts team has gone in nearly 70 years.

McEntee shone in his last full game against Hibernian on February 3rd. On a night you wouldn’t have put a dog out, the aggression, intelligence, passion and leadership he lent to Hearts was positively luminous. No wonder his team-mates and, especially, his manager Derek McInnes, appear to love him:

" I was quite lucky that when I signed the gaffer (McInnes) just trusted me straight away and I have played almost every game for him,” the 6ft 3inch, 14 stone colossus explained.

“Sometimes when people come to a new club, especially from new leagues, their new gaffer might place question marks over their quality for a while but he (McInnes) trusted me from day one and I think I have done well for him and he trusts me to play in multiple positions.

McEntee has arrived in Scottish soccer’s fast lane via the B-roads but is thriving in his new environment in Scotland’s capital city.

New York-born and son of former Shercock and Cavan GAA star Mickey McEntee and Keady (Armagh) native Kay, the versatile defender-midfielder spent his early career with Cootehill Harps, Carrick Rovers, Belvedere and Malahide United as a soccer starlet.

At the age of 16, he crossed the sea and joined Newcastle United, captaining their under 18 team. After spending time on loan at Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton, he signed for English League Two outfit Walsall in May 2022.

In November 2022, Walsall announced that the Cavan man was granted an exemption to his contract to 2025. At the end of his contract in June ’25, McEntee departed Walsall and signed for Hearts the following month.

The step-up from Walsall to Hearts is seismic. But the strapping stopper has adapted like he couldn’t have hoped for with his personality, sense of bonhomie and loyalty making him a players’ player and a fans’ favourite all in one. And, of course, McInnes has his back.

Having been a regular underage internationalist with Ireland down the years and a veteran of European semi-finals to boot, McEntee’s ambition on that front is unashamedly to gain recognition at senior level down the line.

He feels operating at the highest level in Scotland gives him the kind of profile and challenge that can only help his chances of becoming a senior internationalist like former underage team-mate Troy Parrott:

“You are definitely on a big stage here in Edinburgh and in Scotland. Everyone has heard of Celtic and Rangers and Hearts and Hibs and you don’t get a minute's rest on the field no matter what the opposition is ‘cause it’s so intense, so passionate.

“You have to play with gritted teeth all the time but that suits me. That’s the way you have to operate, whether your team is on top of the league or struggling.

“You have to be on it 24/7. It’s a pressure game. I actually think football is 90 percent mental (challenge). You have to have your mind right whether that's confidence or off the pitch stuff.”

For now, McEntee has to once more get his head around the need to get his body right once again so that his talent can continue to earn more plaudits.

“Injuries are just the worst thing for a footballer but I have a good support network at Hearts and I’m very close to everyone at home.

“When I went over at 15 to Newcastle, it would have been easy to have lost touch with Shercock but I kept in close touch with my friends and my mam and dad and sister and they have all helped me along the way and I’m very grateful to them.”

Not half as grateful as the Hearts ultras (who have already ordered the ribbons, called the engraver and made contact on the phone with the party planner) will be if McEntee and co achieve the unthinkable this summer.