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Hearts midfielder Harry Cochrane admits his parents are determined to make sure he has his head on the pillow rather than in the clouds.
Following a meteoric rise to prominence, the 16-year-old has revealed his mum and dad try to keep him grounded and focussed by making sure he is in his bed by 9.30pm.
The teenager has become one of the hottest prospects in the Scottish game since making his debut against Dundee last September.
Harry Redknapp is also among his admirers after the former Tottenham manager said that his namesake’s emergence ‘has to be good for the game in Scotland’.
But Cochrane admits he still has to abide by rules in the house.
Cochrane, who flew out with Craig Levein’s side to Spain yesterday for a five-day training camp, said: “My mum and dad keep me grounded, my dad is on at me every night to get to my bed early.
“He’s on my case from about half past nine, telling me to get up the stairs because I need to rest for training the next day.
“I asked him for the iPad charger the other night but he sent me back to my room.
“I’m enjoying it all but I need to keep my feet on the ground and not get carried away.
“To be in the first-team squad and to have played the number of games I have is amazing, but I need to work hard to keep my place.
“The Celtic game was a great experience, (Celtic manager) Brendan Rodgers congratulated me after the game – which was nice of him to do.
“It has been a brilliant few weeks for me, there’s not really more you can ask for than playing and scoring against one of the biggest teams in the country.
“I got Goal of the Month for it as well, which is great – it was a proud moment.”
Asked about Redknapp’s comments, Cochrane said: “It was good to get compliments from big names in football like Harry Redknapp, but I have to make sure there is more of that, it’s down to me.
“I was amazed he knew who I was.”
The Hearts backroom staff are also keen to ensure Cochrane does not lose focus amid the whirlwind of publicity the Scottish FA Performance School graduate has generated.
Recent words of advice from Hearts youth coach Liam Fox, who played for Inverness and Livingston, proved inadvertently well-timed.
Six days after the Celtic victory, Cochrane trudged down the tunnel 12 minutes from the end of the goal-less draw at St Johnstone after collecting his first senior red card in collecting two cautions.
He added: “A few days later I got the total opposite experience.
“Within a week I went from having a massive high to such a low, but I have to learn from it.
“I was walking off thinking the whole world was against me because I’d had a red card and I knew straight away I’d miss the derby against Hibs.
“I expected to get absolutely roared at in the changing room. I saw with my head in my hands but the manager was really good about it.
“I had been told that in football you sometimes get more lows than highs.
“Foxy was telling me that and then a few days later I got sent off against St Johnstone so I knew exactly what he meant.
“The next day Foxy told me the top pros in the world get sent off, it happens in football so not to get too down about it.”
Watching from the stands for the goal-less Premiership clash with their city rivals on December 27 was punishment enough for Cochrane.
Cochrane said: “Sitting out the last derby was horrible and I don’t want that to ever happen again.
“That’s not where you want to be during a big game because you’ve picked up a red card the week before so it’s a lesson learned.”
