Penrice also reflected on an impressive personal season despite the Jambos as a whole missing their targets
Sport Ross Pilcher 06:00, 22 Apr 2025
James Penrice has dismissed “weird” claims Hearts can’t handle big games despite their Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Aberdeen.
Neil Critchley’ s record against the bigger clubs in Scotland makes for grim reading, with just three points from 12 clashes against Celtic, Rangers, Hibs and Aberdeen.
A late defeat to the Dons in Saturday’s cup clash has proved the final straw for a number of fans, who want the board to make a change in the dugout after seeing their side come off second best in another big game.
The Jambos ended extra-time with nine men after Michael Steinwender’s first-half red card and Cammy Devlin’ s second yellow just before Oday Dabbagh’s winner denied them a chance at a penalty shoot-out.
The club have demanded answers from the SFA over ref John Beaton’s call to dismiss the Aussie. But Penrice insists that despite losing, he and his team-mates showed they can perform on the big occasions.
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He said: “There were weird shouts in the Press earlier on in the week – ‘we couldn’t handle big games’. But I don’t think anyone walked off that park in a Hearts jersey that was disappointed in their performance.
“Every single one of the boys was brilliant. That’s what you need. That’s what you need every week when you play with this club.
“You need to put 100 per cent in and that needs to be the first thing. That’s what we’ve got to do going forward now.”
After also missing out on the top six, Hearts now face an underwhelming end to the campaign, although they could do with another win to remove any lingering relegation play-off doubts.
And Penrice admits they have no choice but to lift themselves. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s very disappointing but I think that’s your job,” he added.
“You can’t always have it easy in football. This is what you’re judged on when it is tough. Can you bounce back? That’s what us as a group of players have got to do.
“We’ve got to bounce back now and go and finish these five games strongly because we owe it to the fans as well.
“We’ve got to win these five games. That’s the least we can do. Hopefully we can do that.
Despite a disappointing campaign for the club, Penrice has been a stand-out and was named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year.
He said: “It’s a massive achievement for me. I was hoping that didn’t get released until after the game.
“It’s a massive credit to where I was. Almost a year ago I wasn’t even playing football and I was injured.
“It’s a lot of hard work that’s gone into it but it’s not just me, it’s the boys in there as well.
“They help for that and I’m very thankful to the club for giving me an opportunity to play.”
After arriving from Livingston expecting to be a squad player, Penrice can’t help but be pleased with his displays during his maiden season in maroon.
He added: “I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s been a massive jump up for me. I’ve taken it in my stride and I’m playing with confidence.
“Ultimately, I’d like to be doing a wee bit better than we are. I joined this club to compete in the finals and finish up the higher end of the league and go and play in Europe.
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“On that end, it’s disappointing. But from a personal point of view, I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s a club I’ve taken to straight away.”
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