4 days ago
Starting XI: Former Caley Thistle midfielder Richie Hart on the Rangers and Celtic players who were his toughest opponents
Former Caley Thistle midfielder Richie Hart starred for four seasons in the SPL before playing for Ross County then Dundee.
Hart's career kicked off as a youth with the Staggies, and he also played for Brora Rangers twice, Dundee and Maltese side Hibernians and Ostersunds in Sweden.
His best days were with ICT where he won the Division One title in 2004 as well as the Challenge Cup, and made 164 Inverness appearances, scoring 16 goals.
My first senior debut was with Ross County under Neale Cooper away to Forfar Athletic (on February 8, 1997 in Division Three, now League Two).
I was still at school and came of the bench late and managed to score the winner.
I have been fortunate to have some amazing moments in football, but winning the First Division with Caley Thistle which got us promoted to the Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the best and a real pivotal moment for the club.
That's a really tough question so I'm going to name a few.
In my younger years, Billy Ferries (Ross County) and Alan Hercher (Brora Rangers) both played a huge part in me going to Caley Thistle.
In my Caley Thistle years, it would have to be Dennis Wyness. We struck up a great understanding right from the off.
On his day, he was unplayable and scored some unreal goals. Off his day, you were a man down! Seriously though, what a fantastic player.
Another tough question, so I'll go for two.
I played against (Rangers') Barry Ferguson at youth level and senior level and I couldn't get near him. He always seemed to have so much time and space.
And (ex-Celtic winger) Shaun Maloney was such a talented footballer. He had that low centre of gravity, and was difficult to knock off the ball and so sharp. A top player.
The only one that really springs to mind is Richie Britain – only because like of Martin 'Jimmy' Scott and Steven Craig used to slaughter him!
As a player, hopefully it would be hard-working strong, fast – and someone they could depend upon.
As a young lad on loan to Brora from Ross County, I remember tenacious midfielder and top guy Jocky Mackay saying to me one time that he thought I was a good player, but didn't play with enough desire.
That instantly struck a chord with me and literally from that moment changed me in how I played the game from then on.
Tynecastle always gets a mention and rightly so, but it's got to be Celtic Park for me.
I managed to score there (in March 2006 in a 2-1 defeat) and it was the first game there since Jimmy Johnstone had passed away. The atmosphere was incredible.
My favourite goal has to be my free-kick against Ross County for Caley Thistle (in a 2-0 win in Dingwall in March 2003).
I still wind up County goalkeeper Tony Bullock about it and ask why he even attempted to dive for it.
I also remember Paul Ritchie scoring an unbelievable volley down at Alloa (in a 6-0 win in Division One in March 2002). It was Van Basten-esque! Dennis Wyness and Paul both scored hat-tricks.
This is the easiest question for me – Liam Keogh without shadow of a doubt.
There wouldn't be much to do there, but there is no doubt Liam would keep the spirits high with his story telling. Plus, he would be very handy in fending off any wild animals.
In the early days of Caley Thistle, we would all go for lunch together, have coffee or play snooker or golf.
As time went by and things evolved, new managers, double sessions and the like, recovery became even more important.
When I played in Malta though, we didn't train until the evenings due to the heat, so I could spend some time on the beach in the morning, get a sleep in the afternoon and then train in the evening – much to the annoyance of my wife Lisa, who was working all day!
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