He’s been dubbed the father figure of Tynecastle.
And as Craig Gordon limbers up for his 300th Hearts appearance, Kye Rowles has vowed to help the veteran goalkeeper grab the daddy of all clean sheets – fittingly his 100th in maroon should it arrive. The landmarks just keep arriving for the born and bred Jambo who earlier this season became the club’s record European appearance holder.
Against Heidenheim in the Conference League tonight the 41-year-old will play his 26th game in continental competition for the club he has served across two spells since making his debut 22 years and one month ago in a 1-1 draw away to Livingston. Nobody needs to tell Rowles of Gordon’s standing in Gorgie. The Australian defender feels it every single day he arrives for work.
And he said: “That’s pretty special, 300. Legend! It’s amazing. He’s a great leader. Obviously a super ambassador for this club. I’ll have to give him a big cuddle before the game! Without sounding rude to him and his age, he’s like a father. He just passes on knowledge, is always there to lend a hand, always helpful. That’s what you need on the field. You need people that you’re going to fight for and they’ve got your back, you’ve got theirs.
“I think he embodies that role immensely and does such a good job as a leader. It’s just great to have him there. He leads by example. If you get yelled at by him, you know you’ve done something pretty wrong.
“It’s best not to get to that level! Just always guiding you where to be, giving tips on, maybe this went wrong, this could maybe help it be better. I think just that calmness. He never gets flustered. There’s a lot of goalkeepers that are quite aggro. I’m sure he is in his head but he doesn’t portray that way.
“I think he’s maybe more harsh on himself than he is others, which is another great quality. Always trying to help us learn from our mistakes and things like that. You get to know the man and he cares so much about this club. He’s honoured and privileged obviously. Fingers crossed we can get him a clean sheet. That would be pretty important to getting any result out of the game, obviously.”
Rowles would have been just four-years-old and on the other side of the world when Gordon made his Hearts bow in October 2002. But he was just yards away from his captain at Tannadice on Christmas Eve in 2022 when the Scotland keeper suffered a double leg break that most onlookers were certain would signal a brutal end to his career.
Gordon fought back on the wrong side of 40 to not only regain the Jambos’ number one jersey but also become Scotland’s first choice again. And Rowles insists his story inspires everyone in the Jambos dressing room.
He said: “I think the comeback story from his injury a couple of years back just goes to show how much he does care. Not only for the game but the club as well. He wanted to get back out on the field and help the club again. It’s just inspirational.
“It’s pretty amazing. Without diving into the injury too much. Not many people who are younger and newer to the game and don’t have all those games under your belt already could do that. He had accomplished so much already that it could have been easier to just say, look that’s me. But his fight, his drive, his passion to come back is just inspirational.
“It was pretty tough to finish that game (at Tannadice) to be honest. All the boys were just heartbroken. Just to see one of your mates go off like that is never a good thing. But to see where he’s got to again after it is just inspirational. Everyone is super stoked that he could get back to the levels that he’s reached again.”
If the Jambos are to get something from tonight’s clash then Gordon will no doubt need to roll back the years again. Heidenheim might be something of an unknown quantity given their rise through the ranks from the seventh tier of German football to the Bundesliga.
But their remarkable top flight debut which saw them finish sixth last season and grab a Conference League spot is all the warning Rowles needs ahead of what promises to be an electric night at Tynecastle. Both sides will put their 100 per cent records on the line.
And Rowles said: “It’s not really until the recent years that they’ve been up. But, look, they’re obviously a great side and they’ve done amazing recently to get to where they are.
“Reaching any European football level from any league is pretty special and a great achievement. So, look, we know it’s going to be a tough ask and they’re a great side.
“As a young Aussie coming over here, it’s probably not really something that you’ve ever thought about, being able to play against a Bundesliga side in a European competition. So, to have that chance to possibly be out there against them and trying to get a result against them, it’s pretty up there in moments, definitely.”