Daniel Oyegoke explains his tough start at Hearts and why fans deserve more
Defender admits the team must perform better
Daniel Oyegoke’s start to life at Hearts has been nothing short of torrid. His new club sit bottom of the league, the manager who signed him is now sacked and the defender has endured some difficult outings - none more so than a European debut own goal against Viktoria Plzen. He stressed he is not daunted and harbours the mental resilience to both cope and recover.
The Englishman is only five appearances into his Tynecastle career and deserves more time to adapt. That said, he is aware patience is thin on the ground in general right now with Hearts propping up the William Hill Premiership table. At 21, he is still learning amid new surroundings in Scottish football. He signed a three-year contract in June after arriving from Brentford and is determined to adjust to his new environment.
“I’ve come to a new league so I’m just trying to impose myself on the league,” he told the Edinburgh News. “The staff and the boys have been brilliant with every single one of us. Hopefully we can turn it around. None of us would have expected this, players who have been here a while or the new boys. It’s the position we are in now and we’ve got to work at it to start getting points on the board and change it quickly.”
Memories of the stoppage-time own goal in Czechia have been pushed to the back of Oyegoke’s mind. He is aiming to erase them altogether. “It’s obviously tough to deal with. It’s part and parcel of the game,” said Oyegoke. “If you want to be a top player and play at the highest level, you need to have a short-term memory and bounce onto the next game. We are working hard to get points on the board and start repaying the fans, plus everyone at the club, for investing so much into us.
“Of course, yeah. I feel I’m a mentally-strong person. For all the boys right now, it’s a tough time. None of us want to lose this many games at the beginning of a season. It’s time for us to dig deeper, be resilient and come out the other end of it. We have different levels of experience in the changing room and we need to use that to turn it round. I can only speak for myself and I have big belief in myself. The games are coming thick and fast. We are working hard and we need to work even harder to improve the situation.”
Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at St Mirren proved to be the last match for head coach Steven Naismith. He and assistants Frankie McAvoy and Gordon Forrest were relieved of their duties on Sunday. Oyegoke replaced right-back Gerald Taylor at half-time in Paisley and admitted the fans deserve better from Hearts players.
“We were getting in positions, it’s just our end product at the minute - that bit of magic,” said Oyegoke. “The ball isn’t falling for us but the boys work incredibly hard and the staff work incredibly hard. It’s not about the effort. We know that the club deserves more and the fans deserve more. We are working so hard to put that right. Everyone is disappointed. You never want to lose a game of football and it’s tough, but this is where characters have got to come out and stand up. We have had great support so it’s time we start repaying that.”