Barrie McKay reveals Hearts 'do what you want' instruction and the Rangers deep end dive that's proved invaluable

Barrie McKay's first ever interview wasn't exactly chapter and verse.

In the mouth of the tunnel at Balmoor, it wasn’t just the glare of the Peterhead sunshine that made him screw up his eyes.

At 17, he was thrust into the media spotlight by Rangers after the club’s maiden match in Scotland’s bottom tier.

McKay had just scored for Ally McCoist’s side in a less-than-impressive 2-2 draw.

And even yours truly - along with other reporters - could barely get a sentence out of the shy teenager.

We both remember it well.

“I’d never done any interviews before,” he says.

“We’d never had any media training. At school, you don’t get taught to talk in front of a camera or answer random questions from strangers.

“You don’t learn that stuff so it was daunting.

“I had to watch what I was saying. Especially as a young boy, if you say the wrong thing - you’re finished!

“But being thrown in at the deep end like that probably helped me in the long term.”

And it has. Because since then, McKay's story has been one of intrigue.

Naturally in that time, he has matured both on and off the pitch.

A four year stint in England, at Nottingham Forest and Swansea City - far more so than the previous five at Ibrox - helped with that.

But at 27, there’s now an assurance in how the winger speaks.

He’s opinionated on the game itself, as well as his own performances and how he’s perceived by others.

Perception, in fact, is one of the key subjects this time around.

Currently, McKay is in top form at Hearts, prompting calls for international recognition.

His goal against Livingston at Tynecastle last week was a thing of beauty.

A delicious volley, executed almost in slow motion, which left opposition gaffer David Martindale in awe afterwards.

Anyone who