Hearts face Catch 22 as bottom spot deters recruits who could help climb table

John Souttar in training with Hearts. Picture: Bill Murray / SNSJohn Souttar in training with Hearts. Picture: Bill Murray / SNS
John Souttar in training with Hearts. Picture: Bill Murray / SNS
Hearts attempts to get themselves off the foot of the Premiership table have been hampered by the very fact they are currently occupying that inauspicious position.

Hearts fledgling boss, Daniel Stendel, quickly made it obvious that a shake up of the current squad was necessary if the capital club are to escape the relegation dogfight and focus attentions further up the league standings but, more than two weeks into the winter transfer window, new recruits have been conspicuous by their absence.

Some of the existing players have been jettisoned and others have been told they are free to find clubs where they will be valued more highly. But, while the door has been thrown open, those exiting have yet to pass others on the way in, which is a cause for concern amongst Hearts fans hoping for a vastly improved second half of the season. It is also proving a source of frustration for the man charged with delivering that turnaround in fortunes.

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“We have tried to bring players in but it’s taking longer than I expected,” said the Hearts gaffer. “There are a lot of things affecting this. We have a big squad. Then there is our position in the league. And, as with every club, there is the money. But we’ve tried our best. I hope we can soon bring new players in.”

The club have been linked with a number of players, some already operating in the Scottish leagues, others 
from south of the border 
and the manager’s homeland.

But they lost out on Matty Kennedy, who instead signed a pre-contract deal with Aberdeen, and the fact the Pittodrie club could offer him the likelihood of European football next season, was a factor when compared with the possibility of Championship football next term if things don’t start to click very soon.

“I know there are a lot of players who can help us,” said Stendel, admitting there are targets but pulling the curtain back on the obstacles currently in the way of those transfers trades. “But they need to be free, we need to be able to sign him. He either has to have no contract or the club wants to release him – or we need to pay for him. Then we need to create space for him in our squad. That’s not so easy. It’s a challenge.”

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But with high stakes, the focus is set on finding a way to add a less goal-shy striker to the mix. Lacking a representative in the list of top 20 Premiership strikers, collectively, Hearts have netted just 18 goals in 21 league games.

Stendel said: “One example is the last game, against Aberdeen. This team is fourth in the table and we are at the bottom. I didn’t see much difference between the teams. The only thing is they have a striker that scores 20 goals and our best scorer has three goals.

“I think that answers the question [of which positions need strengthened].”

Burton Albion have made it clear they will not allow Hearts target Liam Boyce to leave on the cheap, already turning down one approach from an unnamed bidder for the Northern Ireland forward, while Wolfsburg have told the Tynecastle outfit to forget about landing Charles-Jesaja Herrmann. That is not to say Hearts have given up all hope but they are also exploring other options.

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“We’ve said what we want but the player has to want to come to us. His club needs to release him and when not all sides say yes, we have no chance to sign this player and that’s why we need a bit more time. We’re working long and hard every day to change this,” promised Stendel. “We need players who can help us immediately. Our focus is on the offense, especially when Jake Mulraney may be leaving us in the next few days. It’s good that Conor Washington is back but he was a long time injured. You can see in training that we can improve with him, especially with his power and pace but he is not a player that scores 20 goals a season.

“Steven Naismith is back in training. He trained every day – I’m very happy about this! You can see when he’s fit that he’s an important player for us. He’s shown in his career that he can score goals and at the moment this is our biggest focus. Other teams don’t have much more [chances] than us. But we need a player in the box who can score.”

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