Craig Halkett reveals chat with Toby Sibbick as he backs under-fire team-mate to win over critics

Craig Halkett reckons he knows exactly how Toby Sibbick feels having felt the wrath of the Hearts support following his move to Tynecastle.

Sibbick has come under fire from the home crowd for his performances so far this season as the Hearts defence has been decimated by the loss of John Souttar and injuries to Halkett and new signing Kye Rowles.

Halkett was in a similar boat when he first made the move to Tynecastle in 2019. The 27-year-old only truly gained the full approval of the support last season before earning himself a new long-term deal.

Earlier this month, Sibbick – who joined from Barnsley on a three-and-a-half-year deal in January – revealed he’d been in discussions with head coach Robbie Neilson about his shattered confidence.

Toby Sibbick and Craig Halkett embrace during the former's initial stint with Hearts, when he joined on loan from Barnsley. Picture: SNS

And Halkett reveals he was also sought out by the 23-year-old on how to win over the demanding fanbase.

“He has been getting a bit of a hard time,” Halkett told the Evening News. “He asked before and I said to him, when it was me and him off the park, that I was where he was when I first came to Hearts. It was tough getting a bit of stick from the fans. And sometimes it is deserved if performances haven't been good enough.

"He's a great player and I think you'll see once he starts to build up a bit of confidence, with a good run of games together, he'll start to show why he's at Hearts and that he's a really good defender.”

Craig Halkett was speaking at a Game4Padel event to celebrate the opening of new padel courts at Edinburgh Park.

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