Fans get glimpse of future as Hearts kids move on loan

derek miller

22 Nov 2011

Hearts have started their preparations for the future by sending “three of the best young players in Scotland” out on loan to Raith Rovers.

Jamie Walker, Jason Holt and David Smith all signed new contracts on Friday to keep them at Tynecastle until 2014 and were immediately despatched to Stark’s Park for a month to gain experience.

Sergejus Fedotovas, the Hearts director, warned fans at the weekend that the club will be very different next season as he confirmed plans to sell the team’s older players and fast-track the club’s young talent. The move is necessary because of continuing cash-flow problems that have resulted in the first-team squad failing to receive their monthly salaries on time for the last two months.

Hearts can lay claim to having the most promising players in the country, with the club’s under-19 side presently sitting atop their league table with 11 victories from 13.

Darren Murray, their coach, believes Walker, Holt and Smith are ready for the next stage of their development ahead of a possible push for first-team involvement back at Tynecastle in the second half of the campaign.

The trio played for Raith in a bounce game at the weekend and Murray reckons linking up with former Hearts coach John McGlynn is the right move. “They are probably guaranteed a starting place at under-19 level but not in a first team right away, so we’re putting them to the right club. John McGlynn will look after them. He now has three of the best young players in Scotland and we’re hopeful for them. When they come back they can maybe push for a place in the first-team squad.”

Another player who has been on the periphery of the first team is John Sutton. The former St Mirren and Motherwell striker was a surprise inclusion in the starting line-up at Dundee United after appearing to have fallen out of favour under Paulo Sergio.

The 27-year-old is hopeful he can spark a good run, though, after making his first start in more than three months. “You want to play, so it was fantastic to get a start,” said Sutton. “The sad thing is we didn’t get a result. We have to get on the winning trail quickly because we’re slipping down the table.

Meanwhile, Billy Brown, until recently the Hearts assistant, says he does not have a magic formula for Hibs’ problems but is hoping that Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock will help him land the manager’s job. “It’s a great place to be, and I feel I can make a big difference here,” he said. “But I ain’t going to wave a magic wand.”

Taken from the Herald