Hearts star Monica Forsyth looks back at her career so far as she prepares to face former club Celtic

As Hearts prepare to host Celtic in the SWPL this weekend, Monica Forsyth has been explaining her decision to swap Glasgow for Edinburgh and has no regrets. A student, florist and very promising footballer, she is blossoming on and off the pitch.

Forsyth’s life is not just all about football. The winger is also a student as well as juggling a job as a florist. “I am currently on a gap year from university”, she explained. “Being a florist, always gets a bit of a giggle from the team as it’s a bit of a random job. But I just focus on football really, go to the gym and see my friends. That helps with the balance of it, not always being around football and around the chat of it. I am just really enjoying my time focusing on football and making some extra cash delivering some flowers.”

The 19-year-old originally joined Hearts on loan from Celtic before permanently moving to the Capital in 2021. The winger had progressed all the way through the youth set-up at Celtic but struggled to make the breakthrough to the first-team as the club began to become a real force in SWPL1. Hearts, in contrast, were at the bottom of the table after being promoted when she arrived on loan. However, her decision to move was not a difficult one.

“Coming from Celtic, I hadn’t played for a while. I had a couple of injuries as well which made it difficult to get into the first team”, she told the Edinburgh Evening News. “From an enjoyment point of view, not playing was hard. Going to Hearts was a fresh start. Back then, Hearts was very different to how it is now. There weren’t a lot of players and we had just been promoted to the SWPL1. We were struggling and it was hard but, for me, I was just happy to be playing 90 minutes week in, week out. That season really changed it for me by getting recognised by coaches in the top division.

Monica Forsyth made he first start in 12 months in December after a long-term injury. Credit: Hearts Women

“It was good to be in the Celtic development team and it really brought me on as a player. It helped me get into the Scotland youth teams. When the team transitioned to become professional, it did make it harder to get game time and that’s when it changed for me. Going on loan to Hearts would help me progress further.”

On loan, she made a massive impression at Hearts, scoring twice including a stunner against Forfar Farmington. She won the club’s young player of the season award. Despite initially having ambitions to go back to Celtic, Forsyth explains that Eva Olid’s ambition at the club convinced her to stay at Hears.

“Coming into the loan I was just looking to work hard and then try and break into the first team at Celtic when I go back,” she recalled. “It was obviously a club I had been at for a while, and I had enjoyed my time there. It really just came down to the way Hearts were going at that moment, Eva Olid coming in and the ambitions she had for the club. I just thought it was an exciting time and I didn’t want to part from it. At that moment in time, I felt it was important to stay in an environment where I would be playing and continue to push myself to get better.”