James Wilson opens up on his Hearts and Scotland questions - and the big names who helped out

Inquisitiveness helped earn James Wilson a Hearts debut aged 16 and a place in history as Scotland’s youngest international footballer aged 18. He isn’t about to stop asking questions, for the answers will, invariably, accelerate his development. Given he is still just 19, it it fair to assume the striker will continue probing superiors for advice and tips for years to come.

Wilson was named in Sebastien Pocognoli’s first Scotland squad this week after five goals in his last seven Hearts appearances. Form is hot and he is confident of making an impact in the forthcoming quadruple run of UEFA Nations League ties. After pestering people like Scott Crabbe, Lawrence Shankland and Claudio Braga for guidance at Riccarton, he did likewise with Scotland mainstays John McGinn and Andy Robertson. It’s all part of the learning curve.

Wilson is described by Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken as “very coachable” due to his desire to learn. He has worked under various coaches and soaked up a tonne of information for his own benefit. By his own admission, he has only just started. “There was a period under [Neil] Critchley where me and the assistant Mick [Garrity] would do a lot of video on: ‘When the ball is wide, this is where I want you looking,’” explains Wilson, referring to one of Vrancken’s predecessors.

“Even going into so much detail, like, if the defender's body shape is there, as soon as he makes a last movement to scan or check, we did a lot in that period. Again, down at Spurs [on loan] we did quite a bit, just video. I think that is one of the biggest things, just watching back and seeing. If you really wanted to go deep into it, you could look at the percentage chances of where the ball is going to land normally between our crosses. I probably don't go that far, it's just more watching back, seeing where I feel most of the chances I can get are.

“I just try and put myself in spaces where, if the ball drops there, I should score. I think that's one of the coolest parts, when you have done all the work and then you almost feel it in the game, you see it: ‘That's why we've done it.’ I would say it's one of the coolest parts for me.

“We had Scott Crabbe coaching in the [Hearts] academy. I'd ask him loads of questions, especially when I was starting to get a bit older, and he was working with young ones. I was probably coming and annoying him. Even just little things, he was apparently amazing at the art of falling on top of the ball, or buying a foul when you needed it. I would just ask him loads of questions, so he was probably the guy to ask. It's Scott Crabbe, he's around the young ones coaching, and I would be the older one, and maybe after our sessions finished, I would just come in and stand next to Crabbe, and just chat. I'd always be trying to learn, I'd always ask him questions.”

Wilson’s father, Michael, played a small part in his son’s sportingly-curious nature. “My Dad played golf at a decent level, but I think he understood how to be a sportsman,” says the forward. “Just ask. You need to learn from other people, you need to ask. At Hearts, very early on, as soon as I came in the big thing was to ask questions, ask questions, coach you. If you don't understand something, or you want something, the best thing you can do is ask questions. I think that stuck with me. It's probably a bit annoying, I've probably asked a bit too many, but if I can learn something from someone else, I'm going to try to do that. I don't think that'll stop. I mean, that's just the way I am. It's going to be like that.”

Wilson is something of a role model for current Hearts academy players having come through the system. His twin brothers, Alfie and Stanley, are currently trying to emulate his progress. He is at the point where younger players now ask for his advice. “There's the guys that come in from Balerno [Hearts’ performance school], I see them every so often on a Friday,” he smiles. “It's quite funny. You get the questions like: ‘Can you do a celebration? Can you do this?’ Then there's a few of them that will come up and ask, it's just little generic things. It doesn't have to be that formal, but it's just coming up and asking questions. I love that, I find that really cool because it doesn't feel so long ago that it was me.”

For some, it can be difficult to instruct the things you do instinctively. “It's hard. I think me and my brothers are all like that,” says Wilson. “We have these conversations in the house about things, and there's stuff that one of us, just naturally, we do it. Then there are other things that you're trying to explain to the other one, and it's just hard to explain.”

Wilson has more questions to pose when he joins up with Scotland next week. He is one of the most-capped strikers in the squad despite just two international appearances. Only Oli McBurnie has played more in dark blue. “I know. It’s Crazy,” laughs Wilson. “I was happy being called up and we spoke about that.

”In the recent camp I had Naisy [Steven Naismith], who I worked with here before. There was John [McGinn], Robbo, all the experienced guys. You just want to learn as much as you can. These guys are playing at the top level. Naisy has played at the top level, so I love those experiences. There's a part of you that's like: ‘I I know you, but can I ask you this?’ You don't want to overstep the mark. At some point you're going to be the annoying little kid that's coming asking all the questions, but I think that's where you understand when to do it.”