Frankie Kent in Craig Gordon Hearts UEFA drug test quip as veteran still amazes Jambos pals at 41
The defender paid tribute to the keeper as he made his 23rd Euro outing for the men in maroon
Frankie Kent joked that UEFA officials were right to drug test Craig Gordon after he broke Hearts’ European appearance record at the age of 41.
The defender paid tribute to the keeper as he made his 23rd Euro outing for the Jambos in Thursday night’s heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Viktoria Plzen. Gordon is now looking to extend his new record, with Hearts being guaranteed group-stage football this term. And they will be hoping it comes in the Europa League with the play-off second leg at Tynecastle on Thursday.
Kent, speaking about Gordon’s achievement, said: “Yeah, brilliant. We just said it in there. He was getting drug tested [after the game]. We were saying, ‘Yeah, I think he does need that because he’s 41 and still going’. But no, he’s done really well again on Thursday. Yeah, fair play to him. It’s all about him. His longevity is unbelievable, isn’t it? So I give credit to him.”
Kent knows stuttering Hearts need to get their season up and running at Motherwell. The Jambos are still looking for their first win of the campaign and recent blows have led to a feeling that everything’s going against them.
They got knocked out of the League Cup by Falkirk then put in a massively improved performance in Plzen only to lose to a 96th-minute own goal. Kent knows Hearts have the quality and if they can win at Fir Park it could help to turn their season around.
The defender said: “We appreciate the pressure that we’re under and the scrutiny that we’re probably under because of the start. But we know we’ve got more than enough to turn this around and get back in the right direction.
“That’s starting on Sunday and then following up with the game on Thursday. It’s a cliched thing to say but it’s all about Sunday now.
“We need to get back into it, back onto good league form and then take every game as it comes. It’s about making sure we go into the game right and get in the right direction. We will just keep working because it’s difficult being in these situations.
“We had it a little bit sticky at the start of the last season but we know there’s more than enough in that changing room. We know what we’ve got as a team and keep working.”
Hearts came under fire for the result at Falkirk but it was nothing but praise after Plzen. The former Peterborough star said: “I mean, you could probably see it from the stands. I’m not saying that it was comfortable because it wasn’t.
“Obviously, we had to defend at times and it was hard. We had to work really hard to make sure that we stayed in the game and did what we did but the sickening thing is probably that it felt good and it felt comfortable.
“We spoke in there and the boys enjoyed that game, enjoyed the performance, enjoyed having to work really hard for each other. We did that for all of the game.
“I know it’s a very cliched and traditional thing to say but that is the case at the minute. We just need to keep working hard and it’ll come.”
While the season has got off to a slow start, the Jambos have a chance to spark back to life. A win at Fir Park would set them up nicely for the second leg against Plzen and Kent is hoping for a repeat of last year’s clash with Rosenborg where they won 3-1 after a 2-1 loss on the road.
Kent added: “We were in this position last year with the Rosenborg game so we know what we’ve got. We know the crowd will be behind us so it can all change and it can be brilliant. So there are things to look forward to. This tie is on a knife edge.”