Top young player Elliot shines

HEARTS are expected to resume negotiations with Neil Mellor over the next few days after the Liverpool striker held exploratory talks with the Edinburgh club on Wednesday. Several other deals are also edging closer to completion, but none are expected to be finalised in time for tomorrow's visit to Dunfermline.

"Neil was up for talks on Wednesday and negotiations are ongoing," the assistant coach, John McGlynn, said yesterday. Darren Potter, a team-mate of Mellor's, is also still in talks with Hearts, as is the Bosnian international Mirsad Beslija. The club's only signing since the transfer window opened has been Lee Johnson from Yeovil, who was unveiled as a Hearts player on Wednesday.

While working to sign new players for their first-team squad, the club remain adamant that they are not about to lose any of their star names. A spokesperson said last night that no contact had been made with Southampton, who have been reported as ready to make bids for both Paul Hartley and Rudi Skacel. The midfield pair got on well with the former Hearts manager George Burley, who is now in charge at St Mary's, but Hartley is on a long-term contract and Skacel's season-long loan from Marseille can only be broken if Hearts consent.

Meanwhile, teenage striker Calum Elliot revealed that he still cleans the head coach's boots as part of his duties at Riccarton, site for the club's training ground. The 18-year-old was speaking after picking up his award as the Bank of Scotland Young Player of the Month award for December. Elliot enjoyed a fruitful month, bagging his first two goals for the club against Falkirk on Boxing Day then being named man of the match in the tempestuous 3-2 defeat by league leaders Celtic on New Year's Day.

McGlynn, who as the club's former youth coach has been instrumental in Elliot's development, said that the player's recent displays were all the more remarkable given the calibre of team-mates he has. "With the standard of players we have, Calum's breakthrough into the team is even more special," McGlynn said.

"He knows he has to keep his feet on the ground, though, and at 18 still has a lot to learn. Cleaning the gaffer's boots helps him keep his feet on the ground.

"I'm not surprised at the way Calum has come on as we've known for some time that he has the ability. He has a great work ethic which the fans recognise and relate to.

"In the Celtic game, he showed talent and ability which was as good as anything any of us have seen - he led the line well against experienced defenders. We just want him to keep his feet on the ground and continue to develop, as he has a bright future. Hearts have always had a reputation for bringing through young talent and I believe we have others just below the surface."

Elliot added: "I can't thank the manager enough for giving me a chance and I was pleased to get the goals against Falkirk. I've just been working hard and the top-quality players around me have helped me develop with great passes and support.

"I'm getting more experienced playing in front of large crowds - the fans pay good money so you have to play well for them. It's a good level to play at, the level any young boy wants to play at.

"To perform against Celtic in a top-of- the-table clash in your own stadium was excellent. But I was gutted to lose that game at the start of the month."

Elliot signed a three-and-a-half-year contract - his first as a professional - last month.

Meanwhile, another Hearts striker, Graham Weir, has finalised a deal to go on loan to Queen of the South for the rest of the season. Weir has only recently returned to full training after breaking a leg over the summer.

The 21-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, has not given up hope of continuing his career in Gorgie beyond May, and said he hoped to draw inspiration from another Hearts player who went on loan to the Dumfries club, Robbie Neilson. "I can definitely use Robbie as my inspiration in going to Queens because he went there and then came back to Hearts," Weir said of his team-mate, who had a spell at Palmerston Park three years ago.

"He did really well when he was there and he has been joking about the club with me. I have got six months to prove that I can do a job for Hearts and, if not Hearts, someone else."

Taken from the Scotsman