Hearts explain Peter Haring's absence as Austrian is left kicking his heels on the bench
The Austrian midfielder was an unused substitute for the last five games since being replaced at half-time in the 3-1 defeat by Dundee on January 2.
He told the Evening News after that game that his performance was not up to standard, although he has now been left kicking his heels on the bench for five weeks.
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Hide AdHe is fully fit and training but has not been able to get an opportunity against Alloa Athletic, Raith Rovers [twice], Dunfermline or Ayr United.
Neilson explained why Haring has not been on the pitch more and admitted he has no issue if the player harbours a degree of frustration.
“If you have players who aren't frustrated about not playing, then there's a problem,” Neilson told the Evening News. “You want players desperate to play and we have about 18 to 20 of them. They just need to wait for an opportunity.
“They have to make sure they train properly so that, when they do get in, they give themselves the best chance of staying in.
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Hide Ad“It's been difficult for Peter because in a lot of these recent games we are going to try and win the three points. Last Friday at Ayr, we put Steven Naismith, Gervane Kastaneer and Aaron McEneff on because we wanted more goals even at 1-0 up. We were trying to put the game to bed.
“Peter will still be involved going forward. He came on the Scottish Cup semi-final and the final – big games when we needed to close things up. He gave us experience in the middle and defensive attributes.
“This has been a difficult wee period for him but he has been training well, he's looking fit, it's just waiting for that opportunity to get into the team.
“It's a similar situation to Popescu, who started the season and did well but then fell out of the side. Christophe Berra came in and did well and then Mihai had to wait for his chance again.”
