Elliott Frear reveals why he is disappointed with his Hearts career so far

Elliott Frear wants to step things up at Hearts.

Citing injury problems after he arrived on a one-year contract in August, the Englishman stated he is disappointed with his displays and knows he must do more to earn a new deal.

“In terms of performances I have been quite disappointed with the way I have started my Hearts career,” said the 30-year-old, who has made eight appearances in maroon so far.

“I think that’s down to three hamstring injuries at the back of pre-season which has really held me back. As a winger, it’s really hard when your hamstrings keep pulling and straining.

“I can’t perform the way I want to but I’ve had a few good weeks in the gym. I have my own specialised programme which I do twice a day and I feel really good now.

“Hopefully I can kick on now and I am clear of those things. You just never know. That’s the thing with hamstrings.

“Lockdown really affected me, my body just reset. I have been playing 12 years and I think the longest I had ever been off for was three or four weeks.

“So having four or five months off – you can do as many runs as you like but we weren’t football training. It wasn’t short, sharp stuff and I think that caught me towards the end of pre-season.

“I thought I had done well but then I got injured and I was back to square one, chasing the rest of the lads. Hopefully I can have a good festive period.”

Frear scored his first Hearts goal in the 6-1 win against Queen of the South two weeks ago and played as a substitute in last week’s Scottish Cup final. He still hopes to earn a contract extension.

“I want to play well for Hearts first and foremost, I want to start playing as I can,” he said. “I had a good couple of seasons at Motherwell and I want to show more form here now.

“Hopefully I am free of those injuries and I can get back to my normal self. This is a great club with a great fanbase and the facilities are top-class, so I am enjoying this environment.”

A message from the Editor: Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.