Craig Halkett eyes more net gains as well as clean sheets for Hearts

Craig Halkett celebrates at full-time after his late brace earned Hearts victory over Stenhousemuir. Picture: Craig Foy/SNS

But the man who has joined Hearts for the new season is also chasing a different tally, one of goals scored, and having weighed in with a late brace on Wednesday, to make it three in two games, the 24-year-old could soon be looking to revise his usual target.

“I always want to get five and in the last couple of seasons I’ve done that so I’ll keep to the five until I get that then I’ll take it from there. I got seven last year, eight the year before so if I can get that again I’ll be delighted,” said Halkett. “Double figures would be brilliant but my main aim has always been clean sheets and playing well defensively.”

The fact they failed to do that against Stenhousemuir, in a Betfred Cup game the Premiership hosts dominated, prompted boos in the Tynecastle stands but Halkett says that simply served as a reminder of how high expectations are at a club which starts each new term with an eye on winning trophies and challenging  for European qualification.

“It’s massive. It’s one of the three major trophies in Scottish football so you want to progress as far as possible,” he said. “If we win on Saturday [against East Fife] we’ll get through to the next round. But it’s a strange one because it comes bang in the middle of pre-season and you’re trying to get up to speed but you can’t get away from it, every game is important when you’re at a club like Hearts.

“It’s expected because when you come here you’re coming to one of the biggest clubs in Scotland. You’re expected to win the majority of games if not them all, so I think you’ve got to take it on your chin and get on with it. Wednesday was the first time I’ve felt a wee bit of the pressure but I’m not going to let that affect me.

“This is the step up in my career I felt I needed and it was the perfect time to do that. I’m looking forward to getting the game on Saturday out the way and getting the league started. That’s when the big pressure will start.”

Having peppered the underdogs’ goal with a shot, on average, every three minutes the Gorgie side eventually made their advantage count when the former Livingston captain hit back with an 82nd-minute equaliser and then added the winner four minutes later.

“We knew that the majority of the stats were in our favour and you can’t drift away from the gameplan,” he said. “What we were doing was right, we just weren’t getting that final bit – getting the ball in the net. It’s hard to not drift away and to keep doing the things you’re doing and hope that eventually the goals will come

“The first half we had a lot of chances then the second half there were more blocks and saves in a row. You maybe start to think it’s not your day but when you play with a team like Hearts you can’t let these things bother you. You’ve got to keep going to the final whistle and more often than not, get the result which gets the fans back on your side.”

Given a starting berth in place of club captain Christophe Berra on Wednesday night, Halkett is hoping his ability to contribute in an attacking sense as well as in helping marshall the backline will lead to Craig Levein favouring him for one of the centre-back positions in many more games this season.

If he can keep weighing in with valuable efforts, to help spare the team’s blushes, he may have a decent shout.

“You will have to ask the manager about that one,” he said, aware that dislodging either of his rivals on a regular basis will not be easy.

Having been given a run-out alongside Berra against Cowdenbeath last week, Halkett was partnered with John Souttar against Stenhousemuir and he says the competition for places in the Hearts backline, allied to the value of working with international players on a daily basis can only help his personal improvement.

“He’s a top, top player,” Halkett said of Souttar. “Christophe is brilliant as well and I’m relishing the thought of playing in big games with these types of players. I’m hoping that training with them every day and playing with them week in, week out will bring my game on.”