Exclusive:James Wilson discusses a possible Hearts loan move as he looks to play more often

After his first Hearts appearance in three months, James Wilson is taking stock. He doesn’t hide a desire to play more frequently after only four league outings this season. Loan options offering regular game time are plentiful, but Wilson is in no rush. He is grounded and sensible. Hearts are top of the Scottish Premiership and would be a lot to walk away from right now.

That said, a few minutes as a substitute once every 12 weeks doesn’t help a burgeoning 18-year-old who is already a senior Scotland internationalist. Could he possibly force his way into Steve Clarke’s World Cup squad for next summer? Not if he’s sitting on the bench or in the stand at Tynecastle Park, that’s for sure. There is clearly a lot for the youngster to weigh up in the weeks ahead.

Wilson replaced Tomas Magnusson after 85 minutes of Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at Aberdeen in what was his first competitive action since 23 August. He is doing some extra training at Riccarton in an effort to force his way into head coach Derek McInnes’ team more often. Speaking exclusively to the Edinburgh News, he acknowleges colleagues like Lawrence Shankland and Claudio Braga are playing well and scoring goals in a team top of the league. Therefore, he has little grounds for questioning McInnes’ team selections.

“When you’re 1-0 down, you normally look towards a striker to try and get a goal,” says Wilson. “That was basically the message to me at Pittodrie, to try and come on, do what I can, be in the box and try to sniff out a goal. Sadly, it didn’t come. Patience is probably the key message. The guys have done really well so far. We’re sitting top of the league and the guys playing in my position have worked really hard to get there. When they are doing so well, there’s no answer for me. There’s not really a question I can go and ask and say: ‘Why am I not playing?’ You look at what the guys are producing up there.

“It’s just a case of being patient. I’ve been working really hard, doing extras in training and extras in the gym. That’s what you can do when you aren’t playing. You get that extra time on the training pitch. I think that’s been good for me. I’ve been doing a little bit of work with Archie [coach Alan Archibald], a bit more work in the gym, just trying to be in the best position possible to make an impact when I can.

“I think I always train well, generally. When you’re not playing, you don’t need that recovery time as such. When everyone else is recovering, you can do that bit of extra training and just work on a few things you want to work on. I’m doing a little bit more but we train really hard here. Everyone is training really hard.”

There is frustration sitting in the stand, as Wilson experienced many times already this season when unable to get a place among the Hearts substitutes. He played 32 times for the Edinburgh club last season and became a first-team regular. The restricted game time takes some getting used to.

“It’s understandable, to be fair. I’m not sitting there like: ‘This is unjustified.’ I just have to be patient and work really hard,” he says. “It was nice to be back on the pitch on Sunday. In football, there are always ups and downs. I like to think I’m quite level-headed and I can see the bigger picture.

“I didn’t think I really had to change much. I’ve just kept doing what I’ve been doing, I didn’t change anything from last season. I just need to stay level-headed and be ready when I get the opportunity. You’ve just got to work hard. If you work hard, the chance will come. I think ‘faith’ is a good word. I just need to have trust that the opportunity might be there. When you get the opportunity, you need to take it.”

Loan options might well be explored if the situation doesn’t change soon. St Johnstone are one of many clubs keen to give Wilson guaranteed first-team football. Several others are monitoring the situation. So far, Hearts have been reluctant to let him go. He will ponder his choices between now and the January transfer window.

“I’ve seen little bits about it, yeah. It’s up to the club as much as me. Obviously, you want to play,” admits Wilson. “I think it’s just about continuing to work hard. We’ve still got a month to go. Things can change. It’s up to the club, it’s not just me to decide what I really want to do. I don’t know. It’s a tough conversation when there is still so much time to go. We’ll see.

“You have to take everything into consideration. Like I said, the team is doing really well and that’s great to see. It’s been nice still getting minutes with Scotland Under-21s, even though I haven’t played a lot for Hearts. We played a lot of bounce games here and I’m playing minutes in them. I’m getting minutes with the 21s and scoring a few goals so I’ve enjoyed being back in the flow for those couple of weeks when you know you’re going to play.”

Last year brought some giddy heights for Wilson, including a dramatic Edinburgh derby equaliser against Hibs and that first Scotland cap. This season has very much produced an alternative challenge. In some ways, it is more of a mental one. “Yeah, it’s different,” says the player.

“I played a lot of minutes last year when we were playing Saturday, Wednesday, Sunday, etc. You really aren’t training. I had six or eight months last year where it was games, games, games. Now I’ve had a few months of a lot of training. It’s all learning curves. I’m still 18. It has tested a few mental things, a few things where I just have to work harder and be patient. It’s been an experience.

“I was never really down. It’s just different. The guys have done really well, as I said. I’ve had to help them at times in training. I love speaking to them and learning little bits from Braga, Shanks. They are playing well. I wouldn’t say I’ve been down. I just need to be ready.”