Bobby Burns speaks on Hearts aim as he opens up on A-League loan spell with Newcastle Jets and kangaroo encounter

Bobby Burns in action for Newcastle Jets

Bobby Burns is hopeful of returning to Hearts and breaking into the first-team squad, as he opened up on his loan spell with Australian side Newcastle Jets.

Speaking to The Roar, the versatile Northern Ireland Under-21 cap revealed his primary aim had always been to get gametime in Australia with Carl Robinson's side before returning to Edinburgh an improved player.

At the McDonald Jones Stadium, he regularly plays and trains alongside players such as Wes Hoolahan who, like Burns, can count Livingston among his former clubs, and ex-Hibs striker Roy O'Donovan while midfielder Dimitri Petratos has been capped by the Socceroos. Kenny Miller, who had a lengthy career turning out for the Easter Road side as well as Celtic, Rangers, Wolves, Derby, Vancouver Whitecaps, Dundee and Partick Thistle has recently arrived as assistant manager to strengthen the Scots contingent in New South Wales.

Burns has little control over what happens when he returns to the Capital and concedes he doesn't know what will happen. New manager Daniel Stendel is unlikely to have seen the former Glenavon man play, and a lot depends on where Hearts end up next season, with the team embroiled in a relegation battle at the foot of the Scottish Premiership.

Burns, who is under contract at Hearts until the summer of 2021, told The Roar: “The objective of coming out [to Newcastle Jets] was to get games and improve and then return to Hearts.

“My number one objective is to go back and break into the team.

"In saying that, there are so many players there that you can go from first choice to fourth choice very quickly. There are so many variables, Hearts have a new manager too.

"There’s no point worrying about those things though. My objective now is to enjoy and play the best I can for the remainder of the season. Good performances will lead to positive results.”

Burns has played 15 times for the Jets in all competitions and has started the last eight games at left wingback, but Robinson's side currently lie tenth out of 11, one point ahead of Central Coast Mariners and two points behind Melbourne Victory in ninth.

In an eerie reflection of Hearts' situation, Newcastle Jets host Melbourne Victory on Saturday, just hours after the Jambos face St Mirren in Paisley.

Kangaroos and homesickness

Speaking more widely about life in Australia, Burns said he is enjoying life in Newcastle despite admitting the occasional bout of homesickness.

Golf with his Jets team-mates has helped him settle in but it hasn't been without its hazards, as he found on a recent round.

Hitting a shot which landed close to a lazing kangaroo his colleagues told him to take the shot, assuring him that the animal would move. When it didn't, Burns had to play the shot regardless.

“I’ve never hit a shot so rushed in my life,” he recalled. “I’m usually under pressure playing golf anyway, but I thought the kangaroo was going to kill me."