BY ALAN TEMPLE, Algarve – @CCP_sport
HIBERNIAN striker Jamie Maclaren has revealed that his father narrowly failed to make the grade at Hearts as the Australia international prepares to take centre-stage in Edinburgh’s fiercest fixture.
Donald Maclaren, now a finance worker in Melbourne, was a promising youth prospect with the Jambos in the 1970s, playing alongside the likes of Walter Kidd, Bobby Prentice and Eamonn Bannon as he sought to make the grade.
He went on to ply his trade with Dunfermline, as well as enjoying a stint in the U.S., before establishing himself as a regular in the old National Soccer League (NSL) in Australia. However, his apprenticeship in Gorgie remains relatively unknown.
Jamie will have the chance to do what is dad could not – star at Tynecastle in a senior fixture – when he makes his Hibs debut in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup on January 21.
“I’m really familiar with Edinburgh,” said Maclaren. “My dad used to be a youth player at Hearts and would have played at Tynecastle as a junior. He was also a schoolboy internationalist for Scotland – he’s got that shirt framed at home.
“He always throws all the names about of the guys he used to play with, guys like [Bobby] Prentice and Walter Kidd. He was in and out of the under-23s at Hearts but he left Scotland when he was 19 to go over to America.
“He did come back and play for Dunfermline before going to Australia, playing more than 200 games in the old Aussie league. My uncle Ross played for Derby, Swindon and Shrewsbury and had a decent career over here.
“So what better place than Edinburgh? It’s a beautiful city and I have those family ties and mates over here. My fiancee, Iva, and I will have somewhere to be every night and it just feels right.
“It’s a bit like home and I’m sure my dad will fly across when he can.”
The Maclarens’ Tynecastle heritage could have extended to Jamie after he held talks with Jambos boss Craig Levein in December, however they could not strike a deal with parent club SV Darmstadt. Hibs quickly swooped to secure him on loan for the remainder of the campaign.
To rub further salt into that wound, he has started converting Hearts fans.
Maclaren’s grandad, also named Donald, lives in the Costorphine area of the capital and follows the maroon half of the city. However, he will be switching allegiances for the next months.
“That derby was the first thing I noticed when I looked at the fixture list,” smiled Maclaren. “I’m sure my grandad will be at the game, and it will be a feeling that’ll stay with me forever.
“It will be a goosebumps moment. My grandad is a big Jambos but will probably be a Hibs fan for the next six months. Actually, I know that – because he has already been asking me for tickets to the derby, and he’ll be going in the Hibs end!”
Maclaren is nonplussed about the baptism of fire he will receive in Gorgie, insisting Hibs were simply the side side who pushed hardest for his signature and flexed their financial muscle.
Flak
“Obviously I’m going to cop a bit of flak,” he continued. “There was a little bit of interest from Hearts but nothing came out of it. I was letting my agent deal with it. Darmstadt had the last say really and it was in their best interests to accept the offer which was better for them, and Hibs came in with more force.
“It showed they wanted me. Hibs were pushing hard and I had to make a decision, but there’s no bad blood [with Hearts] as far as I’m concerned.”
Maclaren’s move draws a temporary end to a spell at Darmstadt which he candidly refers to as a ‘horror’ six months, amid broken promises regarding the team’s style and where he would fit in the side following his arrival from Brisbane Roar. He does however, remain contracted to the 2.Bundesliga club until 2020.
He is adamant he could not allow his inaction to wreck his dream of leading the line for Australia at the World Cup, revealing his heartbreak as he watched his teammates secure qualification against Honduras in November from afar.
“When you lose your spot in the national team your head kind of goes,” said Maclaren, who played alongside new Hibs teammate Dylan McGeouch in the Scotland under-19 setup before committing to the Socceroos. “The playoff against Honduras was the sad part.
“The game was in the morning, German time, and I got to training and the boys were saying ‘is your team playing’ and I had to say ‘yeah, and I’m sitting here watching it on my phone’. It was awful.
“That is when it hit home: I need to go. It would have killed me to be in the same situation, in Germany watching my team-mates in Russia.”
