Hearts boss explains why he had to bring youth-team players in his squad

Robbie Neilson admits he was down to the bare bones against Ross County after he added a couple of the Scottish Youth Cup finalists from earlier in the week to the substitute list and was still unable to fill the bench.

Ellis Simms misses a chance for Hearts during a cinch Premiership match between Hearts and Ross County at Tynecastle, on April 30, 2022, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Sammy Turner / SNS Group)

With defenders John Souttar and Craig Halkett still working towards Scottish Cup final return, Andy Halliday rejoined the ranks against Ross County.

But the Hearts manager is hopeful that more familiar faces will follow him next weekend, when they face up to league leaders Celtic.

“We were delighted [to have Halliday back],” said Neilson. “He wasn't quite ready for it but he was desperate to get on and Ellis Simms was the same.

“Stephen Kingsley wasn't quite ready. He wasn't feeling great in the warm up so we were down to the bare bones but we are hoping to have more back for next week.”

That could also include midfielder Cammy Devlin.

“Yeah, potentially, he will be available. He was desperate to play but we pulled him back a wee bit. We pushed him to get him ready for the semi and he has had a wee bit of a relapse.”

The absence of so many first-team regulars did give some of Steven Naisith’s young Jambos an opportunity to grow, with Murray Thomas and Macaulay Tait both occupying the bench.

“Yeah, it was good to see them there,” added Neilson. “The two of them did well in the recent cup final so we thought we might as well get them on the bench for a wee bit of experience but they are still young kids and not quite ready to go into a game like that so they need to keep working hard.”