Hearts star on 'change' he's had to adopt after transfer + why he's enjoying stint after stop-start beginning
The star moved to Hearts in the summer and talks to us about adapting in Gorgie.
It was a stop-start beginning for him - but playing every few days is an adaptation Blair Spittal is relishing at Hearts.
After a standout season at fellow Premiership club Motherwell last campaign, the playmaker moved to Gorgie in the summer transfer window. He brings plenty of Scottish football experience to Tynecastle having been at Queen’s Park, Partick Thistle, Dundee United, Ross County and Fir Park previously.
Spittal has three goals and three assists, and despite starting the campaign coming in and out of the starting XI under previous head coach Steven Naismith, Neil Critchley has started him in every one of his games at the helm. Adapting to juggling European action and domestic matters has been new for Spittal, but while he’s keen for the team form to improve with Hearts 11th in the Premiership, he is enjoying life in maroon.
He told the Edinburgh Evening News: “It's been a bit of a change. Also, certain parts of the season, that's kind of a given anyway, but it kind of feels as if we're doing it all the time. We've got games all the time but it's what you want to do as players.
“I think most would tell you that you don't want to spend too much time on the training pitch. You want to play as many games as possible. It's been a bit of a stop-start up until Liam Fox (who became interim manager) in terms of in and out, but I think that comes when you're not winning games.
“You're trying to find the right formula to go and get results. Being a forward-thinking player and you're not winning football matches, that's what tends to happen. You're kind of in and out of the team but I've managed to get a wee bit of rhythm now, so I'm enjoying it.”
Last time out, Hearts lost narrowly to Rangers at Ibrox, a 1-0 defeat where the Jambos were for large spells of the game the dominant force. Tests don’t come much tougher than their next one in the league as they face Celtic before returning to the Conference League away to Cercle Brugge.
The international break has provided some precious time out on the training pitch and Spittal says his playing style is aligned to what Critchley is trying to put in place. He explained: “I think we're playing a wee bit higher up. We're forcing teams, we're putting them under pressure, forcing them to kick long. I think that with the players that we've got, I think we're suited to it.
“Last couple of games, Heidenheim and Rangers, I think we played really well, but probably not got the rewards for that. Of course, it's a hectic schedule when we come back as well. We've got a lot of games coming up, so it's important that we take this opportunity to kind of rest, recover. Like I said, we've got a hectic schedule coming up, and we need to be ready.
“With the schedule, it's been kind of small snippets of information from day to day, but we've not had too much time on the training pitch, so it's been kind of game recovery, get ready for the next game. It'll be good to obviously then get a game plan. We've got a massive game coming up again in two weeks, so we need to make sure we're ready.
“I think the way the team are playing, I think we're playing a lot higher up and I think that sort of suits my game as well. Obviously playing under Foxy as well when he was in charge, it was really good, kind of giving me a freedom to go and play. So it's kind of carried on since the managers came in, so hopefully that will continue.”
Only good performances under new head coach Critchley are not what the leader or players in the dressing room want to settle for, results are being sought. They don’t want the tag of a nearly team, and should performance levels like those against Heidenheim and Rangers be maintained, Spittal reckons Hearts will win more often than not.
He added: “I don't want to be glorious losers, but I think since the manager has came in, I think there's a bit of the game outwith maybe a period against Kilmarnock where we’ve been really good. You keep building up that sort of momentum of good performances, you'll win more games than what you lose, so we need to make sure we keep doing that.”