Moira Gordon: Hearts must strike a balance

SCOTT ROBINSON was the hero the last time Hearts travelled to Ibrox, netting to give the Edinburgh side a share of the points. It is his only goal for the first team so far and the 18-year-old says the memory of that effort will stay with him for life. It's one most Hearts fans will also be able recall with relative ease. Not just because it was against one half of the Old Firm, but because it was one of the very few their strikeforce have pitched in with this term.

In seven starts and four substitute appearances in the league this season, that strike in Glasgow in January remains Robinson's only contribution to the goal charts, but the teenager has not been the only forward foraging with limited success. The entire squad has mustered just 32 league goals this season and the greatest tally of any of the Tynecastle strikers is a lamentable two. Today the Gorgie club travel to Govan to face a group of players who have amassed more than double Hearts' tally, with their front men, Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller, weighing in with 21 and 16 goals respectively. The contrast is an obvious one and, as a result, Rangers are on the brink of tying up a second successive Clydesdale Bank Premier League title, while Hearts, having only just sneaked into the top six, are now focused on chasing down one of the European slots.

Jim Jefferies isn't the first Hearts manager to acknowledge the problem. Come the summer there will be scope to freshen up the squad, and in recent discussions with the club's majority shareholder the pair agreed that addressing the weaknesses in that department of the team is a pressing issue, but while out-of-contract Christian Nade could be among the big-earners off-loaded, the manager still hopes to save the club's resources by working on improving others already at his disposal.

And he is doing so with a little help from old friends. When it comes to scoring goals in the maroon of Hearts, John Robertson has done it more than anyone with a record 214 league goals for the club and it is that know-how which Jefferies hopes to tap into.

With the emphasis on honing the goal instincts and finishing of the raft of young strikers at the club, the former Hearts manager has returned on an informal basis to pass on his specialist wisdom in weekly coaching stints and the kids are already feeling the benefit.

"He comes in every Thursday and he's been brilliant," said the enthused Robinson. "Some of the routines he comes up with are really good – he's got us working on staying in the box a bit more and looking for breaks and rebounds. I've played right across the midfield for the under-19s and don't really see myself as a poacher. I like to create things more, but we'll see what happens. I'm just happy to be involved."

Jefferies said: "Strikers probably are the priority, but we are not looking to bring in four or five strikers, because we have the young lads like Gary Glen, and David Obua has done great for me up front. Hopefully, through, Robinson he will learn to become a wee bit better in the finishing side of things, because he just has to add goals to it. I think he has been a handful and has laid on a few good opportunities for other players. He might even save us going into the market if he makes that position his own."

The bulk of the back-up next term may come from those coming through the system, but Jefferies is still keen to bolster things with a proven goal-getter to help alleviate some of the pressure on the kids to come up with the goods on a regular basis while also learning their trade.

"The striking area is something that Mr Romanov and I have spoken about," said Jefferies, who has identified a couple of possible candidates.

"Robbo is working with about four or five strikers, but we need a type different to what we have got. It's probably someone like a Robbo that we need. He always knew where he was when the ball came in. They don't come in too often so you keep scouring and you keep looking. I don't think there is any doubts, since we've come in we have been creating a lot more because there have been more people in and around the box. We just need to finish them off."

Linked with both Billy Mehmet and Kevin Kyle already, Jefferies isn't naming names, but it is the stereotypical old-style No.9 he's seeking.

"You could put the No.100 on his back as long as he scores! But if he wants the No.9 then that's fine, a player who runs about and gets in the box and people are aware of where he goes. There's one or two out there, and I look at them at the moment and they are particularly impressive, but it depends whether I can get them or not."

He denied the suggestion that moving players on would be necessary before reinforcements could be signed up, claiming such a stipulation had not been spelled out to him.

"To me certain players we will make a decision on based upon what is good for the club, both financially and where we seek to strengthen, and make that place available. Look at midfield. We have got great competition for that next year, but if a couple leave then we will need to bring in another in that department.

"When I took this job I was told what the plans were for the future and if I didn't agree with it I wouldn't have taken the job. The fact is that it was nothing different from what I have done here in the past. I have got to look for good young talent and bring them in or someone I can bring in and make them successful.

"I always know at this club, and it's the same for the likes of Peter Houston up at Dundee United, that the biggest concern if you finish third in the league will be keeping those players. When people come in with offers it is all right saying they are under contract, but it is down to the player. I couldn't hold back Gary Naysmith, Colin Cameron and Neil McCann when he went to Rangers, because they went to play at a very high level. We will still look around for that type of player. Maybe the market is a little bit different from what it was the last time, when there was a lot of good quality. We are not saying there isn't, there is some you would have a look at, although there are not as many.

"But you have got to look at that area, players who could have a few years of success and have the potential to then move on and generate money to get the whole process moving again."

Attracting those players will not be a tough task according to the man who has been there and done it all before, but maintaining the current boost in form and securing European football next season will surely make it even easier.