Hearts' Kyle caged but ready for release

Kyle was unleashed against St Johnstone on Saturday after only two days' full training.

Within minutes of entering the field as substitute he returned trackside with blood streaming down his face following an aerial collision.

He was dragged to the dressing room but refused stitches and demanded to be bandaged up and let out again to try to force a winning goal. "Nae stitches, jist glue," he recalls in that broad Stranraer brogue. At 6ft 3in, who is going to argue with him?

A player with such ardent enthusiasm can only endear himself to supporters.

Jefferies, though, has the unenviable task of managing someone for whom the word "wholehearted" could well have been invented.

Arguments are guaranteed. Kyle admits he will spark many of them himself in an attempt to ensure he starts matches when fully fit.

That he played with such fervour against St Johnstone despite missing all of pre-season after abductor and knee surgery exemplifies his voracity.

"The eye is fine, it's just part and parcel of being a big centre forward and putting yourself about," he told the Evening News.

"Other players get kicked in the knee, I get kicked in the head. It's not a problem.

"They took me off but I was that desperate to get back out, I had no time for stitches or stuff like that. I ran back out the tunnel and I couldn't see though. The bandage was covering my left eye.

"I was sitting on the bench thinking: 'If I was fit enough I'd get a couple of goals here'. There were some right good tasty balls going into the box so I was eager to get on.

"I thought we played really well from the first minute to last. The only exception was the minute where St Johnstone scored, I think we just switched off but, apart from that, they didn't really trouble us at any time. After I went on they had a man sent off and I think that hindered us a bit. We kept going through the middle but I thought we were the better side.

"I had a header which I couldn't really get my neck round to get it in the net. We can all take a lot of positives from the performance. The more games we play and training we do, the better we will become as a team."

Having debuted alongside another new Hearts recruit, Stephen Elliott, pictured right, Kyle is already itching to start at New Douglas Park this weekend. He was due to augment his fitness in today's closed-door friendly away to East Fife tonight and thereafter attempt to convince Jefferies to field him at Hamilton.

"I won't moan at him (Jefferies] yet. I only moan at him when I'm fit and I don't get picked," continued Kyle.

"If I'm not fit I can't really argue with him. We'll argue anyway, we always have done and we always will. But we'll always cuddle at the end of the game.

"I'll definitely be pushing to start on Saturday, make no mistake about it. Billy (Brown] has organised this friendly game so I'll see how I feel after that. I'm just relieved that the pain I did have is gone. I was carrying it since January at Kilmarnock and it's a great feeling to be pain-free because it was really hindering me.

Now all I have to do is get fit, and you can do that in a week to ten days. I'll be staying behind in the afternoons to do everything I can to be in that team on a Saturday rather than sitting watching."

Jefferies' long-term intention is to pitch Kyle and Elliott together in attack to utilise the understanding developed between them at Sunderland. The Irishman, signed last week from Preston North End, is similarly short on fitness. It may take several weeks yet for them to bond into a genuine striking partnership and, after Calum Elliot's goal on Saturday, others will be looking to usurp them.

"I know the way I play, nine times out of ten I'm up in the air," explained Kyle. "I'm always looking to put headers into the danger area, and Stephen Elliott and Calum Elliot like to play in there. If I can get balls down for them, then they can get goals.

"Stephen and I came on for 25 minutes and you could see we were lacking sharpness and match fitness. That'll get better because we'll be training each day, then at the end of the month there is a two-week break for international games. We'll gain most of our fitness during those two weeks. I think it's going to take the next two or three games for us to get our sharpness but it's good Hearts have competition up front. Calum got the nod on Saturday and scored.

"We've put pressure on him and he's delivered. Whether it's me and Stephen, me and Calum or Calum and Stephen, we're all trying to do the same thing which is score goals for Hearts.

"Hopefully the fans can see that we did do a lot of good things in the game.

"It's just a matter of converting crosses into goals. That will come. That feeling of confidence when you know you're going to score can't be beaten.

"Both me and Stephen got a fantastic reception, even when we came out to warm up.

"I'd like to thank the Hearts fans for that. Obviously they've seen me play against them in previous seasons and they've been superb with me.

"The other day at the club shop I was signing autographs and they were excellent."

With public adulation comes pressure and expectancy, which some players struggle to cope with. Kyle seems to revel in it, and isn't about to let a lack of physical conditioning stop him.

"It's the first game in, I've had no pre-season and I hadn't played football since 8 May when Kilmarnock avoided relegation against Falkirk. I've got fitness and sharpness to catch up on.

"Once that arrives, hopefully the goals will arrive. It's a new team, new players. I've hardly played with them or trained with them so it will take time.

"Regardless of whether the fans take to you or don't take to you, your job is to score goals. That will never change. There is always pressure on strikers because you are the ones supposed to score the goals. You either buckle, curl up and hide away under a stone somewhere, or you go out and give it everything."

One 25-minute substitute appearance for Hearts has already outlined which approach Kevin Kyle favours.