McPake took two steps back to move three forward in his career, much like our Hearts columnist, and is now reaping the rewards.
Hearts' Josh McPake celebrates scoring to make it 3-1 vs Hibs
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Seeing Josh McPake’s name in the Scotland squad this week made me smile.
Maybe it’s because his story resonates a bit in terms of dropping down the levels to rediscover himself - that was my path aswell.
Like Josh I started at a big club, Chelsea, then moved to St Johnstone. But it took a move to Ayr United in the third tier of Scottish football to really kick start my career.
I admit I’d left Chelsea as a teenager thinking football was just going to happen for me. I started well at Saints under Owen Coyle but I was young and faded away.
It took the move to Ayr, initially on loan then permanently, and being surrounded with seasoned pros and seeing how much they sacrificed just to play part-time football to bring home to me that you get nothing for free in this game.
It was a wake-up call moment.
Josh’s story is a bit different in that he took the decision to walk away from the last year of a contract at Rangers. He took a gamble to get game time at Stirling Albion and work his way back up.
Hearts' Josh McPake celebrates scoring to make it 3-1
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But the trajectory is the exact same. Only he’s now gone even further with that well-deserved Scotland call-up. And I’m delighted for him.
It’s so brave for a young man with hopes and dreams to do what he did. But he appears to have a real determination about him.
Even after joining Hearts in the summer he had an early struggle to get into Wouter Vracken’s side.
But now he’s a fans’ favourite, his song belts out of the stands every game and I’m already convinced he’s an upgrade on the departed Alexandros Kyziridis.
Josh’s story has to be an inspiration for boys who are maybe in the lower leagues who think ‘this is never going to happen for me’.
To see someone now in the Scotland squad who just three years ago was playing part-time football shows that anything's possible with hard work and playing well consistently.
He can’’t rest on his laurels though. There'll be dips at times but if he can find that consistent work rate and keep delivering for the team then he can continue to progress.
It’s the exact same with James Wilson who was also well deserving of his inclusion in Pocognoli’s first Scotland squad.
I was sceptical at the start of this year when he turned his back on Hearts’ title challenge to move to Tottenham U21s on loan.
But I’ll admit he’s came back a completely different player. Mature, the way he holds the ball up, the way he uses his body, especially in the derby when he was up against Grant Hanley who's a massive unit compared to him.
He was able to buy fouls, win flick-ons and he’s always in a position to score goals. That probably comes through from training with the first team down at Spurs.
I remember what it’s like as a young kid at Chelsea. You're training with the elite and there’s pressure every day in training to hold the ball up - if you don’t they’re not backwards in letting you know!
He’s just 19 remember. But a bit like Josh, James has got everything going for him.
He’s on five goals from his last seven games. Now it’s about consistency - can he go on and become a really, really big goal scorer for Hearts? I would love to think so.
Hopefully he shows it again this weekend at Kilmarnock before heading away with Scotland.
This is a huge test of this Hearts’ side’s cojones and I’m actually looking forward to seeing the response to Tuesday night’s defeat at Falkirk.
It’s no time to panic. Even if there’s a mini injury crisis in midfield.
It's been so good for the previous nine games before Falkirk, they've been really top end performances.
But what I will say is, we'll now see what they're all about. Hearts haven’t got a great record at Rugby Park, stretching back to when I was there.
Incredibly I read a stat this week that they've not won a league game outside Edinburgh since January. They need to sort that out.
If I was the manager, I'd have that up on the wall. And I would ask the team as a whole: ‘what do you think of that, lads? There's a test for you - can you go to Rugby Park and blow Kilmarnock away?’
I’ve already said I think the manager is elite. I love the way he has this team attacking.
But all that goes out the window if the mentality isn’t right.
All good teams bounce right back from a defeat by winning the next game.
The evidence in Vienna and at Easter Road recently suggested this Hearts side has a winners’ attitude. They’ll need it again in Kilmarnock.