Liam Boyce: Could Hearts MVP be the man to end club's 29-year goal hex?

Liam Boyce scored 20 goals in back-to-back season with Ross County. Picture: SNS

That individual is the most valuable part. The MVP, if you will.

Looking around the cinch Premiership at potential MVPs one of the first names which comes to mind is Liam Boyce.

The Hearts striker is primed to have a significant season for the Tynecastle Park side.

Without over-exaggerating the point the Northern Irishman could very well be the difference between success and mediocrity in EH11.

Not only is he the team's goalscorer, he creates chances and he is the player that makes the 3-4-3 work as the central focal point of the attack.

“Defensively it helps us a lot and for me it’s good to have Gary Makay-Steven and Josh Ginnelly close to me so it makes things simple for me,” Boyce said.

“I don’t need to hold onto the ball too long, I can just pop it off to someone and get back in the box and wait for a chance.”

Liam Boyce struck his fourth goal of the season against St Mirren on Saturday. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Smart business

The club have come in for criticism for their handing out of long-term deals to players in recent years but Boyce's three-and-a-half year deal in January 2020 was sensible.

From the moment he was handed his debut by Daniel Stendel against Rangers having only just signed, there was delight and excitement. A player who showed intelligence with the ball, technical skill to link play and strength to hold off opponents. But what Hearts fans really craved was someone who would combine it all with the ability to put it in the back of the net.

Forty-five appearances and 22 goals later, supporters are still growing to appreciate both his range of qualities and importance to the team.

Boyce won the last year's PFA Championship player of the season award. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

His biggest fan is perhaps Robbie Neilson. There was reported interest in the player last summer following relegation. Neilson wanted him to stay and importantly Boyce wanted to stay. He was settled and he felt wanted.

“Boycie is simply just a good player,” the Hearts boss said. “He knows the game and understands the game which is important when you’re asking him to do certain things.

“The defensive aspect of it he does very well too. He is a proven goalscorer and they are hard to get these guys so our job is to keep them fit and playing.”

The 29-year 20-goal pursuit

Boyce in training ahead of Sunday's League Cup game. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

A question regarding the striker’s starting position after the League Cup exit to Alloa last season was given short shrift. Neilson knew, beyond his goals, how important he was to the team’s function.

For fans, however, they want their striker to finally hit the 20-goal mark. Such a season hasn't been seen in EH11 since the early 90s when John Robertson reached it for the fifth time in season 1991/92.

Kyle Lafferty came close a few campaigns back but Boyce, with four in six already, is well set to achieve the feat.

“I think it’s like any striker, you want to get to 20 goals each season,” he said. “It’s the sign of a good season, unless you’re Ronaldo or Messi or whoever!

“Years ago you used to want to be a 20-goal striker, that was the target.

“I’ve done it before at Ross County, I had good seasons there where I ended up top goalscorer.

“So it’s good to come back and we’ve had a great start and the quality of our squad is good.

“So I’ll be hoping to get chances and then it’s just down to me to take them."

Peaks and troughs

Boyce, now 30, has the temperament for a striker, understanding of the peaks and troughs which ultimately come every footballer’s way.

"When you get a goal as a striker and you get a couple of games when you’re scoring, it hits off you and goes in and you don’t even think about it,” he said.

"You just have to try to get that. If you’re in those slumps, you just have to get into those areas. People in our team will create chances with their quality and I know they’re going to come, so you just have to keep getting into the right areas, whether you’re on a run of form or not.

"The more times you get yourself into those positions the more chance you have of getting 20.”

A headed winner late on against St Johnstone in April 2015 “was the catalyst for Boyce's career in full-time football”, Ross County fan John Maxwell told the Evening News.

Back-to-back 20-goal seasons followed. For Ross County in the top-flight, it will remain a remarkable achievement.

"By the time Boyce left County,” Maxwell explained, “his body shape had radically changed, he was possibly only another full season away from breaking goalscoring records for the club and we haven't had a player of his calibre since.”

Becoming a goalscorer

Hearts fans are well aware of the player's calibre, no matter what is asked of him.

Against St Mirren, Boyce played three different roles, fitting into Neilson’s demands that players are versatile, but ultimately he was the matchwinner.

Becoming that goalscoring machine was developed at County.

“In Ireland I used to play up front with Joe Gormley,” Boyce told the Perth to Paisley podcast. “I was always the one dropping deep and going getting the ball, he would be the poacher.

"That started to change when I went to full-time football.

“At Ross County I had Billy Dodds and Jim McIntyre as manager. They were always about us getting it into the box and having two strikers in the box and our movement in the box.

"I needed to sacrifice a bit of what I used to do to try and always be in the right position. I used to play more but I’ve learned I need to score goals.

"I am the striker I need to be the one scoring goals.”

So far. so good. Four down, 16 to go.

Why Hearts fans are set to see the best of Andy Halliday as midfielder highlight...

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.