Absence from team makes this Heart grow stronger

EWAN MURRAY

ANYONE who has spent time in the company of Dennis Wyness will know there is little that upsets the Hearts striker. It comes as a surprise then to hear the player talk openly of his frustration at his lack of form since the summer move from Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Having scored 67 league goals in 110 starts for the Highland club, Wyness arrived at Tynecastle with a big reputation. Hearts fought off competition from Aberdeen - his first club - and others to bring him to Edinburgh, but Wyness has struggled so far to reproduce the free-scoring form he enjoyed at Inverness.

Settled in Fife and having recently become a father for the first time, things could not be going better off the park for the quiet forward. On the pitch, though, he admits to disappointment at the slow start he has made to his Hearts career which has produced just one solitary goal, albeit a cracker, and seen him dropped from the starting line-up.

"I’ve been very disappointed with the way that things have gone," he says. "I’ve simply not played well enough when there has been an opportunity, so there’s no way I can go banging on the manager’s door when my own performances have not been good enough. Craig Levein hasn’t told me why I’ve not been picked recently, but he doesn’t have to."

There are no indications, though, that Wyness will allow his early setbacks to affect his work ethic or determination. "It’s up to me to work harder in training and under-21 games, to get my place back. Paul Hartley has become a good friend, we signed at the same time, and I’ve seen how he has done really well when he has come into the team in the last few games - I must look to do the same when given a chance."

There were signs last Saturday that Wyness was rediscovering his confidence and form when he came off the bench in the Scottish Cup tie against Berwick Rangers and went close to doubling his goals tally on a couple of occasions. However, he still has much to do to win over the Hearts fans. Many have already cast aspersions over Wyness’ ability to adapt to the style of his new side, with much of Hearts’ play going through target man Mark de Vries.

‘The atmosphere is what makes Tynecastle great. Murrayfield would never have that’- DENNIS WYNESS

Again, though, the 26-year-old Aberdonian claims the responsibility is his own to make his game suit, even if the Dutchman should move, as expected, to pastures new. "I was certainly used to a lot more of the play going through myself at Inverness, but Mark has done so well for Hearts that they are bound to use him where he’s best. Even if Mark was to leave, Kevin McKenna could play in the same role and the manager does favour a big target man. I have to adapt to that. It’s the form I showed at Inverness that I miss - not the style of play.

"Whether I play as an out-and-out striker or behind the front two doesn’t matter - I just want to play. Andy Kirk has done a fantastic job since coming back into the team recently, and Gary Wales is fit again, so it will be difficult to get back in."

Wyness built a strong relationship with Caley Thistle team-mates and supporters over three-and-a-half seasons in Inverness but insists he has no regrets about moving south.

"Not at all," he says without hesitation. "I needed a fresh start and I’ve come to a great club where we are challenging for honours every year. There was the opportunity to return to Aberdeen, but I thought they were a poorer side than Hearts, and I think that has been proved correct already this year. I was very lucky to get a three-year deal at Hearts in the current climate, and aim to make the most of it."

A slow start is not a new phenomenon to Wyness. There are claims that he was placed on the Caley Thistle transfer list after an initial barren run of 15 games without a goal. At Tynecastle, at least he is already one goal ahead - if still some 66 short of his final Inverness tally.

There have been early highlights, though, such as that fine run and finish against Dunfermline in late August, and playing the full 90 minutes of Hearts’ famous, if ultimately fruitless, win in Bordeaux.

"That was a fantastic night for all concerned with the club, and I came here for nights like that," adds Wyness. "It was a shame we couldn’t keep it going in the second leg, but the away tie was a superb game to be involved in."

Despite a "shy" image, which Wyness does nothing to dismiss, he has firm views on the events at Tynecastle. Young goalkeeper Craig Gordon has impressed all at Hearts, especially his new team-mate. "Craig is phenomenal. Even in training, he pulls off great saves all the time. He will play for Scotland soon, without a doubt. He’s the best I’ve ever seen."

An interesting opinion, too, on the impending move from Gorgie to Murrayfield. "That would be a shame. The atmosphere is what makes Tynecastle such a great place to play, Murrayfield would never have that with only 15,000 people in it, and wouldn’t be nearly the same."

But it’s mainly the quiet life which occupies Wyness these days. Even if matters are yet to settle on the pitch, his family life has never been better. Fiancée Hazel Macrae gave birth to baby Nicole on 29 November, and they have a wedding booked for next June. "Nicole sleeps all day and screams all night," he says, "but she’s brilliant. Rangers’ Gavin Rae is Nicole’s godfather and he’s been to visit a few times along with an aunt and uncle who live nearby in Fife, but most of the family are still in Aberdeen. The move hasn‘t made a big difference to my home life, although I get far less sleep nowadays!"

Utterly content in his private life, Wyness now wants to convince the Hearts supporters that his own career can undergo a rebirth in the Premierleague.

Taken from the Scotsman