Hearts turn to Enckelman to see them through goalkeeping crisis

Hearts have resolved their goalkeeping predicament by signing the former Finland internationalist Peter Enckelman on a short-term contract.

Hearts lost their back-up goalkeeper, Mark Ridgers, to injury this week. The 22-year-old suffered cruciate ligament damage playing for Scotland Under-21s against Belgium in a friendly on Tuesday and will be out for around three months.

Jamie MacDonald, meanwhile, could be called away at any time when his partner goes into labour with their first child, with the baby already a week overdue. That meant John McGlynn could have been left with only one goalkeeper at his disposal, 18-year-old Jack Hamilton.

Enckelman, who spent two seasons at McDiarmid Park and who also lists Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers among his former clubs, insists he will be ready to call on his extensive experience, whenever he is needed.

He said: "It has definitely been a whirlwind time for me. The first I heard about this was on Wednesday and on Thursday I was told there were contract talks going on.

"Now things have been resolved and I'm very happy at the moment. It's only for a few months but obviously from the club's point of view they were looking to get something done quickly and it was probably best for all parties."

Enckelman, who has 12 Finland caps, fell out of favour at St Johnstone under Steve Lomas and did not feature again after they were beaten 5-1 by Dundee United in February.

He added: "It's never nice [being out of contract] but it's been a long summer and on the wrong terms for me. But I'm really excited now to get back involved.

"Coming to a club like Hearts is great. That Jamie is expecting his first child was probably one of the first things I heard in the dressing room on Friday morning. He has many reasons to be excited at the moment and I hope the family stays well and everything goes well for him. I'm obviously ready to step in.

"That's one of the good things about being slightly older: you have the experience behind you and that does come into play in these situations."

Enckelman has fond memories of his outings at Tynecastle with the Perth club and admits it will be good to have the strength of the home support behind him if he does get back on to the pitch there with Hearts.

He said: "My penalty save late last season was quite nice, but I have good memories of Tynecastle. Win, lose or draw, every time I have played here I have enjoyed it.

"I came here with St Johnstone for two seasons and it's a great place. The atmosphere is usually great here. It's a nice, intimate stadium and I look forward to being here every other week instead of just twice a season with St Johnstone. I am also looking forward to being part of the set-up here and seeing what the season brings."

Taken from the Herald