Palazuelos is fast becoming Hearts' renaissance man

BARRY ANDERSON
RUBEN PALAZUELOS celebrated his 26th birthday on Saturday with arguably his finest performance in a Hearts shirt. If Europa League aspirations are to be realised in Gorgie, this man will have a huge say in proceedings.
Intelligent, visionary, mobile and determined, Palazuelos is in his richest vein of form since joining Hearts almost two years ago. His midfield industry against Celtic was bettered only by an awareness and range of passing that saw him emerge as the game's outstanding player.

The Spaniard, like his colleagues, is driven by the prospect of European football next season. Hearts are currently five points clear of Aberdeen and Dundee United in third place in the SPL and, having overwhelmed Celtic for large portions of Saturday's 1-1 draw, should rightly be confident of holding their position until the season ends.

But Palazuelos is also motivated by personal gain. He could never be termed a selfish player but earning his place in Csaba Laszlo's starting 11 took considerable time, and he is not for relinquishing the jersey at the business end of the season.

His first start under the Hungarian manager, below, was not until October 25 – a 1-1 draw against Aberdeen – as Laszlo initially appeared wary of entrusting the midfielder with first-team duties. But gradually, he has grown to appreciate the talents of a player now excelling in every aspect of his game.

"I think the manager believes in me now," said Palazuelos. "The team has some good players and it's difficult to play all the time. It's also difficult for the manager because he has 20 players or more.

"When a player does not play, it's impossible to be happy, that is normal. I did not play a lot in the first ten or 20 games this season but I'm very happy now because I am always playing. I have confidence and the manager has confidence in me, this is important.

"I'm playing well and the team is winning. If we stick together we can achieve something in the last six games. It is very important I stay in the team but it's more important that the team stays in third position and qualifies for Europe."

Palazuelos' presence in central midfield adds a necessary balance to Hearts. His cultured left foot is capable of spraying passes around the field as might a sprinkler with delicate drops of water before kick-off.

"I think it's very important to keep passing the ball and play at a high tempo," he continued. "Tynecastle is a small pitch so you need to control the ball and pass quickly, otherwise the opponents will press you and you could lose the ball.

"We have good balance at the moment. In the middle is me, Stewart, Obua and Bruno. Some of the players from different countries play very good football. Behind us, Karipidis and Zaliukas are strong in the air, Nade is strong up front and Driver is quick on the wing so the team has a good balance. It's important to stay together.

"It's true that the team is confident now, you can see that from the last few games. We are playing very good football, beating Kilmarnock 3-1 and then playing better football than Celtic."

That Hearts garnered only one point and not three from the weekend remains a source of consternation for Palazuelos.

"Everybody knows it was possible to win because we played much better than Celtic," he said. "The problem was the first ten or 15 minutes. Celtic scored but I think the team is happy that we took a point against a big team. We did not start well but overall we played well. We passed the ball more after losing the goal and I think everyone was happy with that. Normally we would have taken three points with that performance.

"It's difficult because one point is good but, for me, I think we lost two points. We had more chances and I don't think Celtic played as well as us. They did not have as many chances. But we'll take the point and get ready for Falkirk now."

Such is the belief coursing through the Tynecastle dressing room at present that ambitions beyond third place are already being contemplated for next season. "We are third at the moment and there is not a big difference between Hearts and Rangers. Next year we'll see what happens. Why shouldn't we go for second, or even more?" said Palazuelos.

"For now we settle for third. The final games are always like cup finals but we are in a good position ahead of Dundee United and Aberdeen."

Taken from the Scotsman