Mole has to dig deep to recover his confidence

By BARRY ANDERSON
JAMIE MOLE learned little on loan at Queen of the South, according to Stephen Frail, and is now back where he started – challenging for first-team recognition with Hearts.
Recognised as a prodigious talent by senior coaching staff, Mole's lack of impact in Dumfriesshire baffled his superiors at Riccarton. After just two starts and no goals in five months, he is back in Edinburgh embarking on a momentous fight with men like Andrius Velicka and Christian Nade for a place in the side.

Rumoured interest from Dundee exists but Hearts officials confirmed to the Evening News that another loan move for Mole is unlikely. The club are rightly reluctant to release a young player for his confidence to deteriorate on the fringes of a lower division team.

Mole turns 20 in June but remains very much a work in progress for the moment. Spurts of his ability were detectable early last season when Valdas Ivanauskas granted him and extended run in the first team. He responded with goals against Inverness, Motherwell and Dundee United.

However, when Ivanauskas, Hearts' head coach at the time, publicly criticised Mole for spurning a late chance in the ill-fated UEFA Cup return leg with Sparta Prague last September, it seemed to fracture all confidence built over the preceding weeks.

Mole spent an unremarkable spell on loan at Livingston during the second half of last season and this year's Palmerston Park experiment has proved similarly unrewarding. Frail now has the task of rejuvenating the Newcastle-born striker.

"The loan move didn't really work for him, if I'm being honest. It didn't work for either party, Jamie or Queen of the South, but you need to take the positives from it," said Hearts' caretaker manager.

"We'll get him back playing it the reserves and see how he goes. He's a young lad who lost his way a little bit.

"He struggled during his time on loan so it's important we get him back training and hopefully back amongst the team.

"I haven't actually asked him why it didn't work down there, it's just one of these things where things didn't click. Jamie isn't the first person this has happened to and he won't be the last.

"He didn't play in Queen of the South's team at the beginning and, when he did get a chance, for one reason or another he didn't do very well. He's just lacking that little touch of confidence which every players needs, especially strikers.

"We have him back now and we'll get him involved in our own stuff and take it from there."

The plush facilities at Hearts' Riccarton training base remain a rarity in Scottish football, something Frail hopes Mole now realises.

"If nothing else he'll learn from the experience. He knows what it's about now having sampled football at lower-league level. It's not been beneficial in terms of him going and scoring goals or getting confidence from playing, but he will learn from it. It might help him appreciate what he has here. You're always hopeful of that. Maybe, in time, we'll get the old Jamie Mole back."

It would be in Hearts' best interests to rejuvenate Mole sooner rather than later
. Frail has spoken openly about his lack of striking options with Wednesday's CIS Insurance Cup semi-final against Rangers looming large and league form still conspicuously erratic. Mole is unlikely to come into contention for Hampden Park, a game which Frail accepts is now more significant due to Hearts' league form and Tuesday's exit from the Scottish Cup.

"It might be a little bit more significant because we're struggling in the league. If we win on Wednesday it's great, we're in a final," he said.

"That should carry through to your league form as well because people want to play in big games like a cup final.

"It's at the national stadium and we're just one step away from a final. These games would be very important in our season anyway, but perhaps even more so given the league situation. It's important we try to marry the two and enjoy a better second half to the season."

Taken from the Scotsman