Jason Holt knows there will be no special treatment as a youngster at Hearts

24 Jan 2013 00:01
Euan McLean

COST-CUTTING at Hearts may have forced manager John McGlynn to rely on youth at Tynecastle but academy graduate Jason Holt insists there's no special treatment for the younger players.
Holt: "You're still expected to do the same work" Holt: "You're still expected to do the same work"

JASON HOLT says there’s no kid gloves treatment for the Hearts youngsters thrown in at the deep end.

The 19-year-old is among a clutch of youth academy graduates to be given their chance in the first team thanks to the Tynecastle club’s cost-cutting drive.

But Holt – who took another big step forward last weekend with his first senior goal for the Jambos against Celtic – insists he and his fellow youngsters don’t get special treatment from boss John McGlynn.

The way he sees it, in the cut-throat world of the SPL it’s sink or swim, and Holt reckons he and his fellow rookies will thrive – and can go on to form the backbone of the future Hearts first team.

Holt said: “The gaffer doesn’t have any special words for me. There is no special treatment for young boys, you're still expected to do the same work.

“We have a young team and it would be brilliant to play with the other youth players regularly in the first team.

“We came through the ranks together and to see so many of us in the first team is great, not just personally but for the club because it can only be good for the future.”

Holt’s maiden strike at Parkhead last Saturday was the highlight of an otherwise difficult day for Hearts as Celtic delivered this young team a painful lesson with a 4-1 victory.

However, it remains another landmark moment for the young midfielder on his seventh appearance.

And he’ll be homing in on another big experience on Saturday when Hearts face Inverness in the League Cup semi-final.

Holt added: “A cup semi-final is a massive occasion and it’s an atmosphere the boys are looking forward to.

“We’ve not been to the final of the League Cup for a long time so to get there would be great for the club and the fans.

“It’s not often you get the chance to get to a big cup final so hopefully we can take this opportunity and make it a day to remember for the fans.

“The season has gone quite well. At the start I wasn’t really getting an opportunity but the gaffer told all the youngsters if you keep working hard you will get your chance.

“Thankfully I did that, I kept doing well in the Under-20s games and I got put in against Inverness in November. I did okay and that was enough to get a run of games until I got injured.

“I had to work hard again on my return and I came on against Hibs this month and picked up from there. I've had a lot more first-team football than last season so I’m happy.

“To play at Celtic Park was brilliant. It’s a great stadium and they’ve been going well in the SPL and Champions League.

“It’s difficult to play against a great team in front of a big attendance but you have to play your normal game, blank the crowd out and get on with things.

“It wasn’t the result we wanted but to get on the scoresheet was a wee bonus so I was happy with that.”

Taken from the Daily Record