Sidelined Stewart left to battle for place

STUART BATHGATE

HEARTS’ loan signing of Michael Stewart was one of the coups of the close season. Although short of match fitness after being out of the first-team picture at Manchester United, the 23-year-old was expected to get quickly up to speed.

But instead, the past six weeks or so have proved a frustrating time both for the midfielder and his manager, Craig Levein. As Hearts head into one of the busiest weeks of their season, with tomorrow’s home league game against Rangers to be followed on Thursday by the UEFA Cup tie with Braga at Murrayfield, Stewart is still no more than a marginal figure.

"Michael has missed first-team football for a year, and is trying to get his body and most importantly his mind up to that level," Levein said yesterday. "Players grow in confidence when they play in the first team, and he’s not been doing that.

"He’s getting better. But the guys who do what I’m asking them to do will retain their jerseys. If Michael can do better than them, get into the team and do what we’re asking, then he’ll play. But it’s incumbent on him to get up to that level."

Stewart should be on the bench against Rangers - the team he came close to joining before making the move to the club he supported as a boy. But at this stage of his career, the Scotland international could and should be doing a lot more than making cameo appearances.

When he signed, Stewart was seen as the ideal replacement for the Pittodrie-bound Scott Severin, and was hailed as a homecoming hero by the Hearts fans, largely because he had taken a substantial wage cut to turn out for the team.

If he is to fulfil such expectations, this week would be the ideal time, provided he is given the chance by Levein.

Tomorrow, though, the Hearts coach seems likely to persist with Paul Hartley as the pivotal midfield figure, with Joe Hamill and Phil Stamp on the flanks, and Patrick Kisnorbo patrolling the area just in front of the back four. Whether Steven Pressley forms part of that back four remains to be seen, as the club captain is still troubled by the back problem which forced him to sit out Scotland’s World Cup match with Slovenia three days ago. If Pressley does not make it, Christophe Berra should deputise.

Up front, meanwhile, Mark de Vries is ready to make his first competitive appearance of the season. The Dutchman is still striving to shake off recurrent hamstring injuries, and is not yet 100 per cent, according to Levein, who will be tempted to use him sparingly against Rangers in order to keep him relatively fresh for the European match.

"It is getting a bit annoying not to be playing regularly, but I will be starting a special programme in a couple of days that will strengthen my hamstrings," De Vries said. "Maybe it is the way we play the game in Scotland because I have been a professional for 11 years and, although I have had my share of injuries - including hamstring problems - they have never recurred the way they have here.

"It is my left and right hamstrings and I don’t know any other players who have suffered the way I have. I’m a big boy, okay, but that shouldn’t keep me out every season for five or six weeks."

Meanwhile, Hearts chairman George Foulkes has called for calm among fans ahead tomorrow’s match. Many supporters are planning further protests against the board’s decision to sell Tynecastle to ease debts at the club, while playing home games at Murrayfield next season.

The visit of the Ibrox club is also being screened live by Setanta, offering campaigners even greater exposure.

Foulkes said: "Anyone who disagrees with the board of directors has every right to express their views in a robust and peaceful way. However, I would urge everyone, no matter how strong their feelings, to stay within the bounds of the law to ensure their case is properly heard."

Taken from the Scotsman