Ex Hearts star keen on 'one or two' more Jambos transfers for key reason as recent blows ignite new challenge
The ex Hearts and Rangers man believes Derek McInnes’ squad is a bit light in some areas.
Former Hearts midfielder Andy Halliday believes Hearts must make ‘one or two’ squad additions before the end of the transfer window for one key reason.
The Jambos’ 2-2 stalemate with Celtic means there is now a new number one contender on their tail, as Rangers defeated Dundee 3-0 at Ibrox to gain two points on both their Premiership rivals. Despite that, it’s the Jambos who remain in the ascendancy, and with a four point lead over The Light Blues, they still have some breathing space.
As the title race hots up, it’s been horrible timing for Hearts to lose two of their best players to injury, with both Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin out for up to eight weeks. Their omissions were noticeable on Sunday afternoon, as key players like Alexandros Kyziridis and Claudio Braga looked to take the mantle of responsibility.
‘Challenge for Hearts’ to cope without key duo
Motherwell midfielder Andy Halliday believes that Hearts still have some work to do in the last week of the window if they have title ambitions. Speaking on BBC Sportsound’s Scottish Football Podcast alongside Scott Allan, he questioned whether their consistency levels can be upheld without their Gorgie leaders.
He said: "There's going to be a challenge for Hearts, which is why I do think they need to bring in at least another one or two to replace the players who are missing over the next two months. And within that two months, Hearts do have a really tricky period with fixtures.
"Without key players in the spine of their team, I think it's going to be a really, really tough ask for Hearts to get the same amount of points they got for the first third of the season, to the middle part of the season, to the final third of the season."
‘Whoever has the best January transfer window will win the league’
Halliday has stuck to his guns all season predicting that Hearts can go all the way and break the Old Firm title-winning mould this year, however he also believes that the whole complexion of the season could change between now and February 2nd, when the window closes.
When asked by host Jonathan Sutherland who he thinks will win the league, he responded: “I’ve been saying Hearts for so long that I’d almost feel guilty to steer away from them! My confidence levels towards Hearts have dropped when Cammy Devlin was ruled out for eight weeks, then they dropped even further when Lawrence Shankland was ruled out for eight weeks.
“But that being said, them two, and Beni Baningime were all missing (against Celtic) and yes, they didn’t win the game but they got a valuable point and were still the better team across the 90 minutes, so I’m sticking with Hearts. I think it could change anyone’s opinion, what the next four or five days hold in this transfer window. I always felt before it started that whoever has the best January transfer window will win the league. Celtic need a number nine, Rangers need a number nine and now Hearts need to replace their injured guys.”