Exclusive:Hearts talent shares new Tynecastle contract hope as ex Jambos coach provides key lesson in development
The 19-year-old winger has entered the final six months of his Jambos contract and faces a huge six months on loan at East Kilbride
Bobby McLuckie finds himself in a precarious, make-or-break period of his career at just 19. With only six months left on his current deal at Tynecastle, the Hearts winger is well aware of the magnitude of his latest loan spell.
For any young aspiring footballer, nearing the end of their contract is often a fearful and unsettling time as they face up to the potential of having a structured lifestyle to sudden unemployment.
For McLuckie, though, it’s simply a case of keeping his head down and continuing to work hard to prove he is worthy of earning a new contract in the summer.
He strolls into the home changing room at East Kilbride in a confident manner with a smile etched across his face. McLuckie’s demeanour is one of an easy-going nature. He doesn’t strike you as someone who knows that his dream of making it as a professional footballer could be on the line.
A level-headed figure, he knows exactly what’s at stake. Yet a return to the Jambos this month never crossed his mind after struggling to set the heather alight during the first half of the season at nearby Hamilton Accies.
“Yeah, 100% it’s a big few months ahead for me” he replied. “I came to East Kilbride at a good time, a team whose going for the league. Hopefully we can win it, get promoted to League One, and fingers crossed that will set me up for something permanent at Hearts.
“We’ll just need to see what the future holds. I’m still in close contact with the guys at Hearts. Every day I'm not in here, I'll be in training at the Oriam, so I still speak to them a lot.
“I never really thought about going back there (in January), because although I've played a lot of minutes for the B Team already, I thought going back now at my age wouldn't really benefit me. I’d much rather have made the step up to League Two and push to win silverware with an ambitious club than stay at Hearts and not play very often.”
McLuckie explains how East Kilbride move transpired
McLuckie is out to impress as part of a project he was desperate to be involved in. East Kilbride have enjoyed a remarkable journey from a newly formed amateur side in 2010 to reaching the senior ranks within 15 years.
It has been quite the rise for the South Lanarkshire club and McLuckie revealed he was sold on the move after several discussions with the management team of Michael Kennedy and Si Ferry.
“When EK were in the Lowland League, every time we played there with Hearts I was impressed by them,” he stated. “The style of football they played and the way they moved the ball about, it was always an enjoyable game to play in.
“We beat them a few times, they beat us, so when Mick phoned me and said, ‘look, we really want you to come in, we think you're going to be a great fit for our style of play’ - and he promised me regular minutes - it was an easy decision.
“Hopefully I can bring plenty of goal contributions, but most importantly just keep winning games and going for promotion is what matters most at this point.
“I like to think my strengths are being quite direct, I don't like losing the ball. I like taking on a player, I don’t like going back, so as long as I can keep attacking, I'll hopefully get goals and assists.”
Reunion with ex-Jambos coach John Rankin at Hamilton
McLuckie spent six months on loan at crisis-hit Hamilton Accies during the first half of the campaign. Despite their financial troubles and a lack of game time, he insists it was still a worthwhile experience after jumping at the chance to link up with former Hearts youth coach John Rankin again.
He admitted: “For me, I think the experience you gain from being in a full-time environment with some of the players that were in the building, I benefited massively from it.
“Unfortunately, the game time I wanted just didn't quite happen, but I think the experience you take from training with pros every day was beneficial for me anyway.
“John was a big part behind why I went to Hamilton. Obviously, he worked with me in the academy at Hearts, and I liked the way he dealt with me. I rate him highly as a coach and as a guy. So when he asked if I wanted to come to Hamilton, it was a no-brainer at the time.
“I was on loan at Stenhousemuir last season before going there but that was a slightly different experience because they were pushing for the league. It was my first loan spell at that level and it was good to get into that first-team environment, but trying to break into the squad was quite difficult.”
Ambitions of breaking into Derek McInnes’ first-team squad
McLuckie has had a taste of training with Derek McInnes’ first-team squad and given their success on the pitch this season, it has made him hungrier than ever to not only extend his stay in Gorgie but make his big senior breakthrough in the near future.
“I've been in and around the first-team,” McLuckie added. “You can't really single anyone out because they're such a good, solid group at the minute. Going into that environment is really good right now in terms of the energy around the place.
“Of course, my dream is to break into the first-team. Obviously if the moment comes then you've always got to be ready. If that opportunity does arrive then I’ll make sure I’m ready to take it.”
While there’s uncertainty surrounding his own future, McLuckie was complimentary of his Hearts team-mate Keir McMeekin, who is on the Manchester City agenda after a compensation deal was agreed between the two clubs last week.
“I've trained with him a few times and he's technically so good for his age,” McLuckie confessed. “He's got such low centre of gravity and trying to get the ball off him is a nightmare. He's such a good kid and I’m sure he will go far.”