HE'S A CALUM INFLUENCE ON AND OFF PITCH

HEARTS boss Graham Rix believes Calum Elliot should be a stick-on for SPL Young Player of the Year.

Rix insists the teenage hitman has been truly outstanding this season even if the young prodigy disagrees entirely with his gaffer.

The former Chelsea, Portsmouth and Oxford United coach has watched Elliot burst on to the SPL scene and reckons he deserves the gong ahead of the likes of Celtic's Shaun Maloney, Rangers' Chris Burke and Steven Naismith of Kilmarnock.

Rix said: "The others are all talented players and have had great seasons.

"But for a new kid Calum Elliot has been sensational and deserves the award.

"Calum is maturing not only as player but as a person.

"He is a self-effacing guy and I am delighted for him.

"Hearts have quality strikers and it speaks volumes for Calum that he has performed so well and is now a key factor in our team.

"I came in to training yesterday at 9.10am and he was on the Astro turf kicking a ball against a wall by himself.

"He just wants to get better and I have to kick him off the training pitch every day.

"What an attitude that is and I hope he maintains it for the rest of his career.

"Calum is not a ranter or a raver and doesn't get carried away. He knows he has so much to learn and he is getting better and better every week.

"He is a very humble boy and long may it stay that way. He does a lot of things that probably go unnoticed by some but not by his team-mates.

"You only need to ask them what they think of him."

But Elliot doesn't feel he's done enough to justify being a candidate for the prestigious award, let alone win it.

He insists he only felt part of the Tynecastle first team when he bagged his first goal in the 5-0 demolition of Falkirk on Boxing Day.

Elliot said: "There are a lot of great young players in Scotland. I was very impressed with Chris Burke for Rangers against Villarreal on Tuesday night.

"Shaun Maloney has been fantastic for Celtic all season and Steven Naismith has been different class at Killie.

"I have never really thought about my name keeping that kind of company. I have done okay this season but I don't think I've done enough to win the Young Player of the Year award.

"It's up to whoever is voting for it to decide who wins the trophy. I just want to do well for Hearts.

"Whether you are foreign or Scottish, if you are doing well enough you will keep your place in the side. I didn't really feel part of the team until after I scored my first senior goal against Falkirk.

"It was a major relief to get off the mark. I had been part of the squad but up until then I felt I wasn't contributing enough.

"Since I scored my first goal things have been great. It is a great dressing room to be a part of.

"I just want to be a part of the first team as often as possible now I have had a taste of it.

"When you are a striker you want to score all the time and you are disappointed when you don't but if you do it's a bonus.

"There are a number of great strikers at the club and I am learning a lot from the likes of Edgaras Jankauskas, Michal Pospisil and Roman Bednar.

"But I am also learning to be a better striker from playing against Steven Pressley and Andy Webster in training. That is also adding to my game."

Elliot has bagged six goals to date for his club.

He admits his recent brace for Scotland Under-21s against Iceland at Firhill has also boosted his confidence - even though it came at a price when he lost two teeth in an accidental collision with one of his team-mates, Aberdeen defender Zander Diamond.

Elliot said: "The international match was a great experience. It was fantastic to be involved at that level and to train with different players."

Rix's men take on Inverness Caley Thistle at the Caledonian Stadium today buoyed by last week's last-gasp 3-2 win over Livingston at Almondvale.

That kept the Gorgie side's eight-point lead over Rangers intact and their quest for a Champions League place on course.

And Rix admits that as the season nears the business end he is happy for his team to win ugly if it means they hold on to that coveted second spot.

Rix said: "Every team, no matter how well they are playing, has a sticky period and it is how you get through those times that counts.

"If you can get through that sort of spell then great. Of course I want to play free-flowing attacking football but if you can't do it and still keep winning that is all that matters.

"A trip to Inverness represents as tricky and as tough a game as they come.

"Pitches are different and the weather is inclement and I am sure there will b e a howling gale up there but we will have to deal with that.

"If we scrap away, show determination and win 1-0, I will be absolutely delighted with that."

'I haven't thought about my name in that kind of company'

Taken from the Daily Record