Exclusive:Blair Spittal's Hearts talks - midfielder is told where he stands
SPFL Premiership season 2025/26 kicks off this week
Inner resolve is one of Blair Spittal’s strengths and a pivotal reason he managed to work his way up the football ladder to Hearts. Even in lower divisions with clubs like Queen’s Park and Partick Thistle, the midfielder believed strongly that his own ability and work ethic could take him to the top. After joining one of Scotland’s biggest clubs last summer, he firmly intends fighting to stay there despite increased competition.
New Hearts head coach Derek McInnes held talks with Spittal and the rest of the first-team squad following his appointment in May. The 29-year-old was told where he stands and that he would play a role in McInnes’ revolution at Tynecastle Park. That has since been backed up with involvement in three of this month’s four Premier Sports Cup ties and Saturday’s friendly against Sunderland.
Hearts have won seven of their eight games so far under McInnes - a run which includes closed-door friendlies against St Mirren [1-1], Crawley Town [3-1] and East Kilbride [8-0]. Four of the eight matches were non-competitive, of course. Preparations are now focused on Monday’s Premiership kick-off against Aberdeen. Spittal is in contention for a starting place in midfield and knows he must work continuously to convince the manager he deserves a place, particularly with seven new signings recruited and at least two more to follow.
“He [McInnes] had a chat with everyone during the off-season. He told me that he saw me having a big part to play,” revealed Spittal, speaking exclusively to the Edinburgh News. “I played a lot of games last year, but it's about coming in and proving yourself again. It's a fresh start for everyone. It feels like I've had a good pre-season. There's a lot of competition in the squad and all that, but it's up to me when I get the chance to play that I make sure I take the chance.
“You see the competition here and it's fierce. When you get the opportunity to play, it's important that you take it. You're not just resting on laurels, nobody is guaranteed to play in this team. We've got quality all through the team. It's just important that you get the chance and you take it. I've played a couple of 90 minutes so I'm starting to feel good.
“In my career, I've had to battle against it. It's something that I'm wanting to do. I know that I'm at Hearts and the competition is going to be there. It's a massive club. I said when I came in that it's the biggest club I've played for. It's up to me to prove myself. I felt that, in parts, I did that last season but it's a fresh start. You see the signings that we're bringing in and the competition we've got. It's going to be hard, but it's something I'm wanting to get my teeth into.”
Whether in central midfield, attacking midfield, out wide or even at wing-back, Spittal offers Hearts tenacity and versatility allied to creativity. He lined up at left wing-back in last week’s Premier Sports Cup tie against Dumbarton but slotted into midfield when replacing the injured Calem Nieuwenhof against Sunderland.
“Obviously, wing-back is a position I've played before,” he acknowledged. “I think all through my career, I've had people ask what my favourite position is. I've always said that as long as I'm playing, I'm happy. That's the good thing about being able to play in different positions - you are able to fill in. I've played wing-back at Dundee United, I've played there at Thistle. I've filled in the odd time at different clubs I've been at. It's a position I know how to play.”
He is in no doubt about his best role, nonetheless. Spittal is a traditional central midfielder who likes to attack. “I feel as though I do a lot of my best work in those positions, picking up wee spaces and getting the ball,” he added. “I think in the last couple of games I could have ended up with a couple of goals. I certainly got plenty of shots away, it just wasn't to be. I know that if I keep finding those positions and don't get frustrated that goals will come and I'm confident of that.”
Hearts scoring goals after Premier Sports Cup ties and EPL friendly
McInnes’ Hearts team already look to be carrying more of a goal threat regardless of Spittal’s frustration in that area. Sixteen goals in four Premier Sports Cup ties preceded another three against Sunderland as players respond to a new approach. “Coming in last year, there was a bit of an over-reliance on Lawrence [Shankland] to score the goals,” admitted Spittal. “Obviously, it's good to see the goals getting spread amongst the boys. They come from different scenarios as well - working hard on set-pieces and being able to score goals. I think you can see the work that we're putting in and putting teams under a lot of pressure.”
So, what has changed under McInnes? “I'm not really sure,” pondered Spittal. “I think, in a number of games last year, we were good at getting fast starts and putting teams under a bit of pressure in the middle part of the season, but we didn’t build on it. In the Premier Sports Cup games, people have seen us as strong favourites, but the longer the games go on at 0-0, it can become a wee bit more tricky and sticky for us.
“We managed to kill that straight away by getting early goals and kind of stifling the opposition. We're getting goals at good times and we're starting to be a threat from all over the park. So, it's important we don't get complacent. Obviously, we've built up a good bit of momentum, but it's nothing now. We're in the next round but it's all about next Monday.”
It would be fair to say Hearts look in pretty good shape ahead of the league campaign. There is defensive solidity with only three goals conceded in the aforementioned seven matches - and none lost in the last four outings. Goals are coming from defenders, wingers and strikers. Aberdeen in the Premiership is the biggest test to date and Spittal is confident he and his colleagues are ready.
“Yeah, I think so. We're just about there,” he said. “Obviously, the manager said it's hard to get the minutes into everybody in this sort of scenario. You've got League Cup games and you've got friendlies, but I think the majority of the squad, we feel ready and we feel good. I feel we've done really well in the games so far and we've managed to build a bit of momentum going into next Monday.
“I think you saw last year in terms of teams building a bit of momentum going into the season. Aberdeen themselves were the prime example, using the League Cup games to get that winning feeling in amongst the squad mentality. I think you can see that in our squad - we're desperate to win. In the last few games, we have kept clean sheets and that builds confidence for the defenders as well when we know we've got goals at the other end of the park.”
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