McAllister keeps his eye on the ball

MARK BONTHRONE

JAMIE McALLISTER insisted today he will not allow Hearts’ off-field problems to distract him from establishing himself as the club’s first-choice left back.

The 26-year-old has filled a variety of positions for first Craig Levein and now John Robertson since making the move from Livingston to the Jambos in the summer.

But the departure of Alan Maybury to Leicester City has seen the former Aberdeen star revert to his more accustomed role on the left side of defence in Hearts’ last two outings.

And now that he is getting a run-out there he’s determined to make the position his own regardless of what is going on around the club.

McAllister has, of course, become accustomed to working against a backdrop of financial uncertainty from his days at Almondvale. He was part of a Lions squad that had to face the rollercoaster ride of administration during which a number of his team-mates lost their jobs.

While the problems in Gorgie are not as serious as that, prospective owner Vladimir Romanov’s protracted bid to buy chief executive Chris Robinson’s shareholding has left Robertson unable to make concrete plans for the future of his playing staff.

And although that could be unsettling for some McAllister is determined to draw on his Livingston experiences and focus firmly on matters on the pitch.

"The players try not to concentrate too much on what has been going on off the park but it can be difficult," he admitted. "The gaffer has kept us informed with what’s happening but told us to try and keep focussed on football. Hopefully if we can do the business on the park the rest will take care of itself. "This is my second year of having to deal with things like this and I learned a lot at Livingston when the club went into administration.

"It was a horrible time for everyone involved with a lot of people losing their jobs. But hopefully going through that situation means the problems here, which aren’t as bad, won’t affect me.

"Players just have to get on with the job that they are paid to do and try not to pay attention to things they can’t influence.

"For me that means trying to make the left back position my own. I’ve enjoyed playing left back the last couple of weeks after playing anywhere from centre midfield to left midfield to up front this season.

"The most important thing is getting a game although I do favour playing on the left side of defence so am pleased to be back there at the moment.

"Alan’s (Maybury) gone now so hopefully I can stake my claim. I just need to keep working hard and turning in decent performances in games and with a bit of luck I can stay there."

And McAllister did his chances of an extended run-out at left back no harm at all on Saturday as the Jambos recorded their first win since the start of December with a 3-2 win against strugglers Dundee United, thanks ultimately to a deflected Paul Hartley free-kick with just four minutes left.

The Tynecastle men still trail Capital rivals Hibs by nine points although McAllister admits he and his team-mates have their sights set firmly on overhauling Tony Mowbray’s men in third place.

"Hopefully Saturday can be the start of a wee run of victories," he said. "We ground out the result without ever playing that well and it was an important three points for us as you don’t want to leave yourself with too big a gap to close.

"We’ve got to look at trying to catch Hibs in third place now. We have a good run of games coming up with the possibility of picking up a lot of points.

"If we can play the way we did in the second half then we have a right good chance. There’s still everything to play for. We’re only half way through the season and our goal is still to finish third.

"We showed great character at the weekend and that’s something we need to build on. In the first half we weren’t great and were lucky to go in level at the break but at half-time we got a bit of a rollicking from the gaffer and we responded."

Next up for Hearts, though, is a break from SPL action as they entertain Partick Thistle tomorrow night in the Scottish Cup fourth round replay.

The teams battled out a dull 0-0 draw when they met at Firhill earlier this month and McAllister revealed everyone at the club is desperate to make amends for the disappointment of that result.

"We’re still in both cups and it’s important for that still to be the case after tomorrow night.

"We were disappointed not to have finished the job in Glasgow but no matter what we threw at them in the second half we just couldn’t get the break. We really battered them but couldn’t score. Tomorrow we have home advantage and the confidence of the win at the weekend and although it will be hard we have to make that count."

Taken from the Scotsman