Robbie taken with Hearts' men in white

BARRY ANDERSON
IF injured Hearts players like Saulius Mikoliunas require assurance that they are in safe hands with club medical staff, a conversation with Robbie Neilson would more than suffice.
The full-back recently returned from a six-month injury absence and harbours unbridled gratitude for those who helped him rehabilitate.

Rob Marshall, Hearts' head physiotherapist, has shouldered a mountainous workload this season striving to retur n Neilson, Bruno Aguiar, Christian Nade, Deividas Cesnauskis and Mike Tullberg to full fitness. He is ably aided by assistants Simon Murphy and Paul Atkinson and club doctor WD Melvin.

The primary focus of their attention, excepting Tullberg's recent setback, is Mikoliunas, recently diagnosed with knee ligament damage.

Neilson's stomach and ankle injuries ensure he is well placed to offer encouragement to the Lithuanian, who is not expected to play again until the end of next month at the earliest.

Knowing his colleague will be distraught at such a lengthy absence, the full-back emphasised the professionalism of those who will rehabilitate him behind the thick walls of Riccarton.

"I wasn't expecting to be back in the team as quickly as this, I thought I'd play a few reserve games first," he told the Evening News.

"I had a decent base of fitness after working with Rob and the physios, who got me up to a good level. I feel good and that's me played two full games now. It might take me a couple more to get back to 100 per cent, but I'm nearly there.

"It's part of football that you will get injured. It's about being professional, which the guys will be. We have the best of facilities at Hearts now with excellent physiotherapists and doctors working together. You will always get the best of treatment.

"It's about trying to see it as a positive, getting yourself back in the gym and getting working towards the same level you were at before.

"Rob, Simon, Paul and the doc have been great, I can't speak highly enough of them. They've been fantastic with me and anything I needed has been done to a great standard," Neilson was at pains to explain.

"It's testament to them that Bruno has come back and been fantastic, I've come straight back into the team after six months of rehab. They deserve a bit of praise."

Neilson, to his credit, has played like he has never been away. An impromptu substitute appearance at Love Street, ironically in the same game as when Mikoliunas sustained his injury, provided a way back into the Hearts side which has been grasped with all might.

The fact that recent defensive prudence has coincided with the full-back's reinstatement should not be overlooked. He delivered another assured display against Falkirk last Saturday in a game that saw Hearts record a 2-1 win, their fourth consecutive league victory.

"Fans say they would rather see a good game than three points, but the more we get three points the more they want three points and the less they want to see the good football," he said.

"You eventually get to a point where they will demand the three points, it doesn't matter how you get them as long as you get them. That's how the best teams in the world play. It's not always about playing Brazilian football, especially when it's minus five outside and there's snow on the park, or it's windy and the ball is bobbling all over the place.

"It's about getting out there and getting a 1-0 or a 2-1, as we did on Saturday. Just get the points on the board.

"Come the end of the season, if we're up near the top of the league, we can look back at a game against Falkirk where we scraped a victory."

A key feature of the match on Saturday at Tynecastle was the tempo at which the hosts pursued their opponents.

"We had been working all last week on pressing teams and getting on the front foot," said Neilson.

"We have a lot of pace in defence, any balls over the top they will get nine times out of ten.

"That's a bit of insurance for us if we play a pressing game and that's something the manager is trying to implement.

"The boys are taking it on board and I was disappointed to lose the goal against Falkirk. I thought it was sloppy, we need to get back to clean sheets again," he went on. There wasn't a lot of great football played but Falkirk are a decent team, even though they had a few injuries, and we knew they would make it difficult.

"In the past we've sat in and tried to hit on the break but the manager wanted us to press up a bit more.

"In the first half it didn't really work for us, I thought we sat a bit deep."

Neilson explained that Laszlo had laid out where he thought his side was going wrong during the interval. "The manager spoke at half-time about what he expected from midfielders and defenders and I thought second half we created more space for the likes of Ruben Palazuelos and Bruno to get on the ball.

"It's a big confidence boost for the team to know that, if you go a goal in front, you can hang on to it. Likewise, if you go a goal behind like Saturday, you have that bit of quality to get back in the game. Confidence is a big thing here and I still don't think we are at full confidence.

"We go through fits and starts in games when we aren't playing as well as we can, but on the whole we are making progress."

Taken from the Scotsman