Craig can build team around Tomaschek

THOMAS FLOGEL today spoke for the rest of his Hearts team-mates when he expressed his delighted at seeing Robert Tomaschek back in full training - and claimed the midfielder is the ideal player for boss Craig Levein to build his team around.

The Slovakian is battling his way back to fitness after tearing his cruciate ligament against Celtic six months ago and handed the Jambos a huge lift when he took part in a full training session for the first time on Monday.

He followed that up with another punishing outing yesterday as he finally begins to see light at the end of what has been a very long tunnel since that fateful day at Parkhead back in August.

Much had been expected of the 29-year-old this season after Levein had helped instil new-found confidence into the former Slovan Bratislava ace.

However, instead of becoming the lynchpin of the Jambos midfield, Tomaschek found himself fighting to get his career back on track after limping out of the Celtic clash with less than ten minutes gone of the third game of the campaign.

There is no doubt his influence has been missed by Hearts in what has been a tough season of transition for the Gorgie outfit, with Levein under pressure to slash the wage bill while keeping the team competitive on the park.

The Jambos boss has done a commendable job in difficult circumstances, but there is no doubt his task would have been much easier had he been able to call on the services of Tomaschek.

However, Flogel has backed the former Slovakian captain to get back to his best and prove once again what a key figure he can be in Levein’s plans.

"It was great to see Robert back in training with the first team this week and I am sure he is feeling good about the whole thing," said Flogel.

"It will be a tremendous boost to have him back in the team, although I think he has a bit to go yet before that happens. But the fact he has progressed so well is good news for everybody at the club.

"Hopefully, he will continue to improve now and we can see him back in action for the first team before the end of the season."

The Austrian added: "Robert is 29 now and he knows what it means to be playing first-team football at this stage of his career.

"He also knows that he will have to work extremely hard to get back to full fitness again but I am sure he will give everything he has to achieve that.

"He has been training very hard and hopefully we will see him back playing again shortly."

Tomaschek’s injury was a hammer blow for Levein so early in the campaign and his selection problems for midfield mounted considerably when Scott Severin was forced to undergo an operation in October to try to rectify his long-term ankle problem.

Levein was forced to bolster his team by bringing in Finnish internationalist Tommi Gronlund until the summer - and although the midfield terrier has been a big hit during his time at Tynecastle, Flogel says fans should not underestimate the influence which Tomaschek can have on the team when firing on all cylinders.

And the former Austria Vienna star, himself now one of the more experienced performers at Tynecastle, knows how important the older players can be to a team which has more than its fair share of youngsters.

"It is always difficult to replace good players and that was the case when Robert was injured," he said.

"We don’t have as big a squad as the likes of Celtic or Rangers and that is where the problem can lie sometimes. Experience in any team is therefore important and Robert is one of the players which I believe the manager can build the team around.

"Tommi Gronlund has done well since he came here and both him and Robert are the kind of people to link the midfield and defence.

"But you can’t compare the two as they are different type of players. Tommi’s strength probably lies in his tackling - he seems to do it for fun during matches.

"Robert is a good passer of the ball and is a big influence on the team. We have missed that, but I am sure he can be again in the not too distant future. We need all kinds of different players to make a good side and they certainly bring their own qualities to Hearts."

While he appreciates that his team-mate is desperate to fight his way back into Levein’s plans as the campaign enters its closing stages, Flogel has urged him not to push himself too soon.

"Robert is a sensible guy and knows that he must be 100 per cent fit," he said.

"Trying to come back too soon from a bad injury can cause problems but hopefully he’ll continue to go about things properly and his recovery will go to plan."

Taken from the Scotsman