Sives vows to prove Hearts' faith in him is well founded

THESE may be uncertain times at Tynecastle but defender Craig Sives is sure of one thing - he wants to repay the club for the faith shown in him.

The young centre half was surprised to be offered a new two-year deal by the Gorgie outfit last week but he intends to make the most of his unexpected opportunity as he becomes a fully paid-up member of the Jambos first-team squad.

A stalwart in the Under-19s who finished runners-up in their league behind champions Celtic, Sives is too old for involvement with the youths next season.

All set to put pen to paper on the contract which will keep him at Tynecastle until the summer of 2007, the defender is relishing his promotion to the senior set-up and the chance to continue his education under the watchful eye of the likes of international stars Steven Pressley and Andy Webster.

A product of the renowned Hearts youth system, Sives has been handed a two-year agreement compared to the one-year deals offered to fellow youngsters Gary Tierney and Marco Pelosi.

Youth boss and interim first-team manager John McGlynn insists that is evidence of just how highly the Jambos rate the central defender, who started his second game for the club against Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Sunday.

"I thought Craig handled himself very well at Pittodrie," said McGlynn.

"He won a lot of headers, was very committed as he had to be in the circumstances and I thought he came through the game with flying colours.

"It was a strange game and even Andy Webster commented afterwards that he had never before played in a game like it with everything launched into the box all the time.

"That meant a busy shift for the guys at the back but the good thing was it meant they couldn't afford to let their concentration levels drop.

"It will stand Craig in good stead for next season although competition is strong. We do believe in Craig. We like to keep the boys reasonably hungry and don't want to give them too long so they switch off. But Craig deserves his two-year deal, we see the potential he has and we fully expect him to develop and improve in that period."

Sives, who made his competiitive debut for the club in September when he started against Dunfermline at East End Park, enjoyed his taste of top-team action and he'll be hungry for more when the new campaign kicks off.

"That was my second start for Hearts and it was a tough match with Aberdeen throwing everything into attack," he said.

"It was a great experience and the sort of thing which I can only learn from. I took a wee while to settle in to the game and the pace of the match was so much quicker than what I have been used to but I thought I did all right.

"I was booked in the first half so had to watch myself but the guys kept telling me to keep my concentration. Andy Webster helped me through the game and hopefully there will be more opportunities like that in the next couple of seasons.

"It is going to be difficult, though, with Andy and Elvis Scotland regulars and Christophe Berra also in the Scotland set-up at Under-21 level."

The centre-half, in Scotland colours, right, began the season in upbeat mood after setting his side on the way to a 3-1 victory over Hibs in the Festival Cup clash at Tynecastle. A couple of weeks later he was making his debut against the Pars but things soon went downhill after injury kept him out of action and he began to wonder just what next season would hold for him.

Those anxieties, however, have diminished with the tabling of the new deal, much to his delight.

He said: "I played in the Festival Cup against Hibs and started against Dunfermline at East End Park. I then got injured and lost some form and began to wonder if there was a future for me at Hearts.

"With everything that has been going on, it has been a bit unsettling.

"But I was surprised and delighted to get a two-year deal as I was expecting to maybe just get the one year. I will be signing it shortly and it's now up to me to repay the faith the club has shown in me.

"Big Gary Tierney came on for me at Pittodrie and he's another one who has been doing really well so there is a lot of work for me to do to stay in the first-team picture. I haven't really been involved in the first team that much this season as I was part of the Under-19s. We had a good season at that level but next season I'll be too old for the squad and will be a member of the first-team squad, which will be great for my football education.

"Getting a run of games next season has to be the aim, although just training with all the first team on a regular basis will be great experience.

"We will have a new manager for the start of the new season and there will be a lot of us who will be out to make an impression."

Taken from the Scotsman