Kenneth Vargas suffering at Hearts but the club know why as they place faith in the talented Costa Rican

Tynecastle coaching staff are impressed with small details in the winger's play

As a 21-year-old Costa Rican loanee, Kenneth Vargas might find Scottish football something of a culture shock. It would be easy to judge him on 13 Hearts appearances and no goals, but that might be harsh on a young player who is well out of his Central American comfort zone.

He has been asked to play extra minutes because of injuries to other attacking players and is still growing accustomed to his best role in a maroon shirt. Hearts coaching staff retain full faith in the versatile winger whose pace they have used through the middle in recent games.

The Edinburgh club have an option to sign Vargas permanently when that season-long loan from CS Herediano ends next May. Between now and then, he will continue developing as a direct wide player who can also operate as a striker. Goals and assists have been difficult to come by so far, however there is no panic within Riccarton's corridors.

"I think he's got really good qualities," said the Hearts head coach, Steven Naismith, in an exclusive Evening News interview. "The biggest thing I've noticed from working with him every day is that he has the small details young players normally don't have. He knows how to use his body as a smaller player, holding the ball up, where to position yourself out of possession. He has loads of those natural instincts.

"He isn't scared to get in and tackle, he isn't ducking out of headers, so he has all these attributes which can be really hard to get in young players. He also has a good touch and he is really quick. He has loads of ability and will be a really good player.

"The one criticism will be that he hasn't scored goal. I feel he has had lots of value within a lot of our performances. He has probably been unlucky - because of injuries - that he hasn't had a wee spell on the bench. For any new player, starting the game is the hardest part. Everybody is fresh, there is a gameplan from both teams and you work through it. In the last half-hour, everybody is tired and it's the easiest time to score a goal.

"How many times do you put a sub on and they score? Brilliant. Kenneth hasn't had the chance to do that because we've relied on him from the start. Yutaro Oda and Kyosuke Tagawa have been injured, so his pace and natural striker ability have forced him to start a lot more games. Otherwise it might have been easier for him to get a goal [coming on late as a sub].

"He has suffered in that respect. He has been forced to do a lot of hard work at times without getting much reward for it in terms of goals and assists, but I've been really impressed with him since he came here."

Vargas may get some rest with Oda back fit ahead of Hearts' Premiership match against Livingston on Wednesday. The Costa Rican has threatened to burst to life on several occasions so far this term, none more so than against PAOK Salonika in the first leg of August's Europa Conference League play-off tie. Surging down the right flank in the early stages, he was fouled by PAOK's Austrian midfielder Stefan Schwab for a penalty which Lawrence Shankland converted.

Such moments should become more frequent with time and coaching. Vargas did score twice on international duty with Costa Rica Under-23s earlier this month whilst playing in a two-man forward line. Hearts looked to replicate that tactic against Celtic and Rangers in their last two matches as they look to explore the player's versatility.

"I think he can do both, play as a winger and a forward," said Naismith. "He went away with Costa Rica, played in a front two and scored twice. He has grown up playing off the side a lot, but he has a natural instinct to find space. If he is a forward, he can drop into space like a No.10. On Sunday at Ibrox, as soon as an opportunity arose, he didn't think twice about running into the space.

"That's good, natural instinct. His versatility in that sense is really good. As he gets older, he probably turns into more of a forward than a wide player. He has a good touch and good link-up play. Even on Sunday, he should do better with his chance [in the first half]. He combines with Shanks quite a bit. He doesn't slash at a ball first-time, he is willing to combine to create a better chance."

Vargas' command of English is also gradually improving. A brief utterance of "Gorgie Rules" in a social media video is all we have heard from him in Scotland to date. Naismith offered an insight into the player's character and desire to integrate himself with new colleagues.

"He is really receptive to information and he is a warm character. His English is really good. It's not as if he doesn't understand many words, he understands nearly everything. Whether he is in a meeting, in the changing room, in the gym, in recovery, at lunch, he isn't sitting with the same people. He will mix with everybody. I think he appreciates the opportunity here and he is trying to maximise it as much as he can."