Wales ready to haunt old team

PAUL KIDDIE

FORMER Tynecastle star Gary Wales regrets not being able to bid a proper farewell to the Hearts fans - and now the striker plans to greet them again with a goal or two.

The 25-year-old spent nearly five years in Gorgie but quit the club in January in an attempt to kick-start his career in England with a loan deal at Walsall.

Seven months after heading south, though, and the front man will be back at Tynecastle spearheading the Kilmarnock attack on Saturday afternoon.

In a curious twist of fate, the player has been reunited with Jim Jefferies, the manager who first gave him his big chance at Hearts in 1999.

Wales moved to Gillingham after a matter of weeks at the Bescot Stadium - he was then a victim of circumstances with Walsall offloading him in order to utilise an emergency loan for a defender.

He is as surprised as anyone to find himself performing again in the SPL so soon after turning his back on Scotland but it’s a challenge he readily accepted when his former boss came calling.

And he’ll run out at Tynecastle with confidence sky high after opening his account for the Ayrshire side against Celtic at the weekend - he put Killie 2-1 up only for the champions to hit back to clinch a 4-2 triumph.

Although he enjoyed a good relationship with the Gorgie faithful, Wales won’t mind upsetting them by helping Killie to victory.

"It may be just eight months since I’ve been away from Hearts but it feels a lot longer," he said. "I am looking forward to going back to Tynecastle although I suppose it will be a bit strange to begin with.

"The one big disappointing thing when I left Hearts was that I didn’t get a chance to say a good cheerio to all the fans.

"I would have liked to have done that as I had spent a good number of years of my career at the club.

"But it wasn’t to be and it’s in the past now. It would be great to come back with a couple of goals on Saturday but who gets the goals doesn’t matter as long as Kilmarnock get the right result.

"I got off the mark against Celtic on Saturday and when you score against the Old Firm it certainly helps lift your confidence."

Wales decided to head south after being told by Hearts boss Craig Levein there would be no new offer waiting for him at the end of his deal in the summer.

With his only first-team appearance of an injury-plagued season coming as a substitute at Dunfermline in December, the news did not come as too much of a surprise for the former Hamilton hit-man.

Leaving Tynecastle in pursuit of regular top-team football may have been a big wrench for the player but he knew it was something he had to do.

While delighted to link up with Jefferies and Billy Brown again, it was the security for his young family - he has two young girls - which a two-year deal provided which persuaded him to make the switch.

"I had been offered a new one-year contract at Gillingham for this season which was very tempting and to be honest had I still been single I would have stayed," he said.

"I was playing every week in midfield and really enjoying it but it was too much of a gamble for the family. Once I knew Jim Jefferies wanted to take me to Kilmarnock there wasn’t much of a decision to make.

"It’s great to be at a club where the manager knows and likes you and I have shown in the past that I am good enough to play in his teams."

While he could be forgiven for wanting to prove a point to Levein, Wales insists that his not his style.

He said: "I am not a huge believer in that sort of thing. I would be looking forward to doing well no matter who we were playing on Saturday. The fact it is Hearts at Tynecastle just makes the occasion that bit spicier.

"There are still a few guys at the club who I know and it will good coming up against the likes of Elvis and Andy Webster.

"I have had a taste of it in training before and it promises to be a good test.

"The SPL has a lot of people knocking it recently but it’s a good league to play in and it’s up to the players to provide the kind of entertainment the fans want to see."

Wales, who still lives in Livingston, has signed a two-year deal at Rugby Park and he’s hoping that with his life now a bit more settled, he can get back to doing what he does best - scoring goals.

"That sort of stability can obviously help out on the park as well. We’re now settled again as a family and my career is back on track.

"I’ve moved back to Scotland and the SPL. I have done it here before but have a bit more experience now.

"I’ve started the first two games of the season for Kilmarnock so it’s been the ideal beginning for me personally and hopefully we can keep it going on Saturday."

Taken from the Scotsman