Three years ago I was playing in Scotland’s third tier, now I’m eyeing first cap

JAMES PENRICE has made the journey from Livingston to the Conference League.

But the ambitious Hearts left-back won’t rest until he follows his old skipper Nicky Devlin all the way into the Scotland squad.

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Penrice has hit the ground running at Tynecastle following his arrival from the Lions in the summer.

The 25-year-old admits he had to pinch himself the first time he heard the Euro theme being played in Baku.

Now, just weeks on, Penrice has even been given his own song by Jambos supporters.

And ahead of this evening’s clash with Cercle Brugge he revealed his delight at his progress.

He said: “Playing where I was last year and then coming here and playing in big European nights, it’s been good.

“The big games every couple of days and then playing in Europe was a massive attraction for me and I’m just glad I’m doing it.

“I couldn’t have believed that a year ago.

“Even the Conference League song getting played before the match, it was a bit of a weird one the first time I heard it.

“It’s been a crazy year, but for me and my family it’s been brilliant.”

On his own song, Penrice added: “I was sent the song a couple of times yesterday, it’s always good. It’s probably the first one I’ve got!

“That’s more for my family, it’s stuff for them, that they can be proud of.

“I said before I signed that I could come in and make an impact and I think I’ve done that. I feel I’m getting up to my best game and I can keep showing people what I can do.”

Jambos boss Neil Critchley has already spoken with Penrice about future goals.

And he has made no secret of his desire to follow former Livi team-mate Devlin into the international fold — even though skipper Andy Robertson is in the way.

He laughed: “It’s not a bad fight, is it?

“The gaffer and I had a conversation about my ambitions for my career and I mentioned Scotland was one of them.

“I don’t see why not. I’m at a huge club and if I keep playing then I’ve got to be there.

“Playing in Europe helps. Even in the league, you’re playing against big teams, you need to go and perform.

“That’s what I want to do, I want to just perform in every single game and see where it takes me.

“Nicky’s been brilliant. It was not so long ago that he was captain of Livingston.

“It’s just hard work. That’s what gets you where you need to go.”
Penrice has been the most consistent of all Hearts’ summer signings this season.

But he admits the switch to Tynecastle has been harder than he has made it look at times.

He said: “If it looks like that, that’s probably good. But I’m not going to lie, it’s been difficult.

“It was a different way of playing. I’ve had to get used to that. I didn’t really have a pre-season either.

“It was difficult from January on when I was injured, but as soon as I knew this move was going to happen, it’s just been a feeling of excitement.

“I just want to get on the pitch and try and get wins.”

Hearts will have the backing of over 3,000 fans at the Jan Breydel Stadion this evening, with 8,000 spectators expected in total.

Penrice spoke to several at the airport yesterday and admits he and his team-mates are determined to make it a trip to remember.

He said: “There’s no words you can put together.

They’re going to be here and they’re going to be loud.

“Even in the airport, it was full of Hearts supporters and that’s what we all want.

“We want their backing and we need to go and show that we can put out a result.

Steve Clarke’s left-back options

Penrice’s former captain Devlin got his first call-up aged 30

Andy Robertson (Liverpool), 30

Kieran Tierney (Arsenal), 27

Greg Taylor (Celtic), 27

JAMES PENRICE (Hearts), 25

Jack MacKenzie (Aberdeen), 24

“It doesn’t add to the pressure. Every game should be the same. You should want to win.

“Whether there’s 15,000 Hearts fans or 5,000 Hearts fans, you should want to go and win games.

“There’s a belief from us and a demand from ourselves that we can go and do that.”

A win in Belgium would give the Jambos a real chance of staying in the tournament beyond Christmas.

Cercle, like the men in maroon, are currently struggling in their own league, where they sit 14th.

But they did see off Derek McInnes’ Kilmarnock in the Europa League play-offs back in July, so Penrice refuses to look too far ahead with so much on the line.

He added: “We’re not thinking about qualifying. It’s just every game as it comes, really.

“We’ll look towards Aberdeen on Sunday after this game.

“The focus is on this one and going and putting three points on the board.”

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