Hearts kid Thomson vows to be Csaba's flexible friend

However, the promising player has fought his way back into contention for a place in Laszlo's starting line-up this season and was given the nod for the SPL clash with Hibs just under a fortnight ago.

His bad luck continued, though, when he had to be replaced after half an hour because of a heavy blow to the head that left him flat on the track and knocked him out cold for a few seconds.

Having been forced to withdraw, Thomson was ruled out of the game against Motherwell a few days later and also found himself on the bench in Sunday's 2-0 victory over Hibs at Tynecastle.

This weekend, however, Laszlo has to do without defenders Lee Wallace and Marius Zaliukas, who are suspended because their red cards at Pittodrie three weeks ago sent them through the disciplinary points barrier.

Thomson is determined that if another chance were to come along for the trip to Kilmarnock this weekend that he would grab it with both hands and said: "I feel fine now, when the head knock happened I think that I was out for a few seconds.

"I've still not seen it on TV – one of my friends has got it on Sky Plus but I'm not sure if I really want to see it.

"I took a sore one but I'm fine now. I think that I went in to tackle and the momentum has carried me through and I've hit the ground. It's been really frustrating for me, to be honest, because I have been in and out of the team and I've had a few niggling injuries that have kept me out of the side altogether.

"I had a chance at the start of the season but then Eggert (Jonsson] and Robbie (Neilson] came back and both of them have been playing really well.

"Particularly with Robbie, he has played so well since he came back into the side and I think the side went on a run of five or six games unbeaten so you can't change a side like that if I'm being honest.

"I have been on the bench most weeks, which is good, it's good to be part of the team even as a substitute.

"It was annoying to get a chance against Hibs and then have to come off after just 30 minutes.

"I will just need to wait and hope that I get another chance maybe against Kilmarnock this weekend because I know that both Lee and Marius are both suspended again."

Despite never having played at left-back, Thomson enjoyed his tussle in that very position against Hibs and would be more than willing to take up the same spot this weekend.

Having already seen Jonsson adapt to a number of different positions this season, Thomson realises that being versatile can only help open more doors to the first team for him at Tynecastle.

"I think right-back is one of the hardest positions in the whole team to get into right now," he added.

"I played at left-back in the derby at Tynecastle and I enjoyed it even though I had to come off in the first half.

"I saw the manager in the papers saying that he thinks he needs another left-back to come in to help Lee (Wallace] out if he's injured or suspended but I am more than happy to step in if he needs me.

"I'll play anywhere just as long as I get into the team, Eggert has shown that he can play left or right-back and at centre-half as well.

"It is good to have a few positions that you can play in.

"Playing left-back isn't too different to what I've been used to – apart from the fact that you're using your left foot, which for me is usually just for standing on!"

Thomson, who played for Loanhead Boys Club at eight, nine and ten-year-old levels, has come through the ranks at Tynecastle and is hoping that he can follow in the footsteps of the likes of Andrew Driver, who has taken the same route.

"I've been here from the age of 11 and signed a contract to join the groundstaff when I was 15 and I was brought up a Hearts fan as well so it would obviously mean a lot to myself and to my family as well.

"I think that I have played in two or three derbies now, funnily enough. I played in my first one when I was just 17, I came on as a substitute in the first derby of this season and then I started the game at Tynecastle a fortnight ago. It's good to get a chance to be involved and when they come along, you've got to make sure that you take them.

"Andrew Driver has proved that, he's taken his chances with both hands and now there are a lot of people coming to watch him play. I think he's proved just what a quality player he is."

You can put your money on the name Thomson being involved with the Hearts first team over the coming seasons, the promising defender joined in the ranks by younger brother Daniel.

Daniel, who turns 18 next month, had also been making an impression behind the scenes at Tynecastle until he damaged his cruciate ligament in the opening game of the season.

Jason has done everything possible to keep his sibling's spirits up since the injury and hopes to see him back in action before the end of the season, although he has only recently started to run again.

"Dan was at the consultant yesterday and was told that everything looks fine and that he doesn't have to go back again. But it will probably still take him until the end of the season or the start of the next season before he can really think about coming back. It can be difficult getting that kind of injury at any time really, but even more so for him because he's at such a young age but everyone has been trying to encourage him and keep his spirits up if he gets down.

"He has just started running again and he is shattered because he's not really been able to do much.

"He knows there's a lot of hard work ahead of him and a few really hard training sessions to get him back to some kind of fitness."

Despite his obvious concern for Daniel, who has a gruelling few months of work ahead of him, Thomson still insisted that his brother doesn't know how easy he has got it in the club's plush surroundings of their Riccarton Academy.

Thomson senior spent a year at the club before they made their move to the Heriot-Watt campus at Riccarton and remembers only too well the hard work the younger boys had to put in to get everything ready for training: "I had one season down at Tynecastle and it was such a big difference when we moved to Riccarton," he recalled.

"I had to clean boots, move hampers and put goalposts on top of buses, so the young boy doesn't know easy he has got it!

Taken from the Scotsman