Cailin Michie feels 'valued as a person and as a player' after flying start at Hearts

Cailin Michie is set to sign permanently for Hearts and believes the Edinburgh club is an “exciting place to be” after scoring on her debut last week.

The 24-year-old, an Edinburgh University graduate who is now undergoing a public policy masters at Strathclyde University, made her first Hearts appearance as a trialist in 3-0 win against Aberdeen on Sunday and her registration is now being processed.

Michie previously played for Hibs, Swedish top division club Pitea and spent the last year and a half at Glasgow City. She is moving on for more game time and says Hearts have exactly the environment she is looking for. “I guess I was just looking for something that is different for me and different from Glasgow City,” she told the Edinburgh Evening News. “Hearts provided that nice environment I was looking for.

"At Glasgow City we had a few managers in and out which meant it was always difficult when you sign under one manager and then you are potentially not in the plans for the next one. It was nice to come to a club like Hearts and see where you can fit in and are really valued as a person and as a player.”

Michie, who has been capped by Scotland at under-19, under-17 and under-16 and under-15 level, spent four-and-a-half successful seasons with SWPL rivals Hibs, lifting four Premier League Cups and three Scottish Cups in her time there.

Having also played in Sweden, she is impressed at how much investment Hearts are putting into women’s football since returning home. She stated: “Hearts is such an exciting place to be because they are just developing things so fast as a club putting a lot more investment into it and making it a lot more professional and it's showing by the results we are beginning to get.

“We are competing more and more with all the teams in the league and so hopefully we can stay in the top six. But retaining fourth place and putting pressure on the top three would be a great achievement from where we started off over the past couple of years. We are coming on leaps and bounds, so it’s an exciting place to be and it’s about demanding higher standards from both ourselves as players and getting the support we need from the club as well.”

The Edinburgh born defender showed off her abilities at both ends of the pitch with a goal on her Hearts debut. She said: “I just thought I’d put my foot through it because it was kind of a 50/50 ball, and it got a big deflection and I just followed it in just to make sure it hit the back of the net. I was really pleased to be able to get that first goal on my debut.”

Cailin Michie played in the Champions League for Glasgow City but has joined Hearts for more game time and says it is an 'exciting place to be'. Picture: Craig Foy / SNS

That victory strengthened Hearts’ grip on fourth spot in SWPL1. Assistant manager Sean Burt told the club website: “The players really stepped up and gave us a good intensity all week and they got their rewards. It’s a long season. We'll take it game by game, but we know if you can put a good run of results together and take points off your direct opponents it certainly helps to catapult you up the table.”