Scott Robinson keen to stand and fight at Hearts

There is no grumbling about that either, for he knows the alternatives. The prospect of being relegated to the under-19 squad still imbues the young striker with serious motivation to impress seven months after his first start at senior level. Even thoughts of a loan move to supplement his first-team experience are not exactly warmly welcomed. Robinson is where he wants to be, in the SPL, and fully intends to stay there.

He smiles, offers a handshake and sits down. Few 18-year-olds would possess the confidence to chat one-to-one with the media but Robinson articulates his thoughts well. He wants an opportunity to prove to manager Jim Jefferies that he can thrive in amongst more established figures, perhaps even become a suitable attacking foil for recent signing Kevin Kyle.

Jefferies suggested at the end of last season that Robinson and other fledgling Hearts teenagers may be dispatched on loan to lower league clubs by August. That arrangement served the likes of Robbie Neilson well in previous years, but Robinson is reluctant.

"I wouldn't like to go on loan. I'd probably prefer just to go back to the youth team, play week in, week out and stay local," he said. "Then I could hopefully get another chance with the first team later on. I'd be under Darren Murray's wing and he's a great coach, I love working with him. I'd still be at the academy every day and could still use the gym and things to work on my strength. I would need to think about it and think about what club came in for me. I would definitely prefer to stay here and fight for my place, though. The SPL is the highest level in Scottish football so obviously I want to play there. Having experienced it last year, I want to stay in there."

No-one can be accused of doubting this kid's priorities, which certainly seem to be in an appropriate order. His preference to stay at Riccarton no matter what is rooted in a desire to remain under Jefferies' nose and keep his face familiar to the manager. Others have graduated seamlessly from youth academy to first-team squad in recent years, like Craig Thomson and Arvydas Novikovas. However, unlike Robinson, they are now too old for under-19s.

"I'm not even at that stage yet," he explains. "I've been training with the first team since December, that's when I got my first start. I've trained every day since then. I still don't feel like a first-team player because things could change and I could go back to under-19s.

"I do still feel detached in that sense. There are players who are first-team players every day and that's not going to change. They can't play 19s, but I can so I know it can change. That's always on my mind. I know if I don't impress the gaffer and I'm not coping, he can just say have another year at 19s or talk to me about a loan possibility. He hasn't spoken to me about it yet, maybe he'll have a word about it soon. I just want to still be involved this season, training every day with the first team.

"If I'm doing that then I can hopefully impress the manager and push to come on in games or get the odd start. Obviously I'm still young and the new gaffer maybe looks at things a different way so I could still end up back with the 19s. He might just tell me to go back with Darren for a while, but I hope not. I just need to keep working hard with the first team and impress in the games."

If nothing else, Jefferies must have been impressed by Robinson's work rate and unshakeable enthusiasm. A feature of his appearances last season was his boundless energy and desire in attack, which became all the more noticeable alongside the slothful Christian Nade. Former manager Csaba Laszlo promoted Robinson to the senior squad at the tender age of 17 and ensured a steep incline in the player's footballing education. He learned quickly, though, as evinced by a goal at Ibrox in late January.

"At the time, I think Csaba was just quite annoyed with the strikers. He wanted players to work hard," said Robinson.

"I came into the team and just tried to work as hard as I could, to prove that I could be good enough. He stuck with me and showed good faith in me and I'm thankful for that.

"The new gaffer looks at things differently, though. Csaba left and Jim Jefferies came in, so you need to work at it again and try to impress him and get into the team.

"It's hard when you're training every day and not really playing. You maybe play a bounce game every two weeks, that's really hard to adjust to because you want to play all the time.

"I liked playing with Nade but I think Kevin Kyle would be even better. He seems like he'd be great to play with. I've seen him in and about the academy and he's huge. He would hold the ball in like Nade did, except he's more mobile."

That's a given, but Kyle would struggle to cover as much ground as Robinson. Even a gazelle would have difficulty matching the teenager's vivacity. Yet just when it seemed his batteries were everlasting, he met his match in Italy.

"It's completely different doing pre-season with the first-team. Italy was the hardest training camp I've ever experienced. We went for a sleep in the afternoon to make sure were fresh for the second training session at night, and as soon as your head hit the pillow you were out. It's all good in the end and we'll feel a lot stronger when the games start.

"The team spirit is really good just now, and with Darren Barr arriving that has helped because he's Scottish. All the hard running during pre-season actually helps that because you need to pull each other through. It definitely brings you together. All the younger boys are getting slightly older and are fine in amongst the first team now.

"We are all trying to work hard to impress and I think everyone is coping really well."

Robinson is by no means out of place amongst Hearts' first-team mainstays and, with a grounded attitude and unquenchable hunger to impress, the smart money is on him staying there.