Hands on Hearts

Alan Rae was the physio at Hearts for over 20 years. He joined the club in 1982, languishing in the First Division and looking at the prospect of part time football. In that time he has seen 8 managers come and go as well as 3 owners and too many players to mention. Six years after leaving 'The Jambos' he has penned a memoir of his time at Hearts. He has anecdotes about home games, European games and even pre and post season tours abroad. Woven into these memories is the medical knowledge of a true professional, from players suffering career threatening injuries to managers for whom the pain of losing is physical as well as mental.

Alan Rae Alan Rae was a long-serving employee of Hearts Football Club, a firm presence in the team's dugout on match days. Part-time from 1982 whilst also working at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, he later joined the club on a full-time basis. He was a well-respected member of the off-pitch team, and throughout his career witnessed eight managers, three owners and numerous players come and go. Alan left Hearts in 2005 after 23 years at Tynecastle stadium. He now lives in the Scottish Borders.

Paul Kiddie Paul Kiddie began his journalistic career with DC Thomson in Dundee in 1984, where he spent twelve years before joining the Edinburgh Evening News sports desk. A similar length of service with Scotsman Publications saw him report on Hearts for six tumultuous seasons, during which time he first met Alan Rae. After a year living in the USA, Paul was offered the chance to return to Scotland as Communications Manager at Heart of Midlothian FC, a position he took up in January 2007.