Liam Boyce names his Hearts MVP as Jambos group chat helps keep him clued in on 'ridiculous' Gorgie turnaround
The former Hearts striker has been talking Jambos.
He’s loved watching from afar - and Liam Boyce reckons one Hearts star in particular has stood out amid a dramatic turnaround in Gorgie.
Upon his Tynecastle exit in January 2025 for League of Ireland side Derry City, the striker could not have predicted Hearts sitting top of the Premiership the following season, heading into the post split fixtures. That’s exactly where they find themselves and it’s largely why Craig Halkett, Harry Milne, Lawrence Shankland and Claudio Braga are named worthy of PFA Scotland Team of the Year placement.
Derek McInnes’ side have had an Irish-based supporter in their former striker, who is delighted to see Hearts thrive. He feels striker Braga has been the standout man in an epic turnaround in fortunes from last term’s bottom six finish, with attacking potency allowing boss McInnes to fully deploy his ideas. A Jambos group chat of past and present stars is helping the Derry forward keep on top of it all.
Liam Boyce on Hearts
“I've been watching every game,” said Boyce in an interview with the Evening News. “I'm still in a group chat with the likes of Craig Halkett, Barrie McKay. It's just from the time we were there and just talking every week about it. Then I speak to like Cammy Devlin and Beni Baningime quite a bit. I've been watching every match, cheering every goal, and it's been brilliant. An unbelievable season so far and an absolutely ridiculous turnaround. I know Tony Bloom said it would be 10 years to win a league but I don't think anyone could have seen how well it's gone.
“That just shows you about the signings they've made, I think they've been really smart . Halkett being fit the whole season, Stuart Findlay playing, they just have three or four players in every position. Claudio Braga for me has been the best player in the league this year. His enthusiasm and his energy being unbelievable and they basically have the same enthusiasm and energy in the midfield with Cammy.
“I think he's been unbelievable this year. They've done well to bring Marc Leonard in when Cammy got hurt obviously, but just when he brings that team, and the way McInnes wants to play. It's a perfect match basically for the way he wants to play and the personnel they have. Then they have obviously the quality up front with Alexandros Kyziridis, Lawrence Shankland and Braga. One of them is going to score a goal, so he knows if they keep it tight, they're going to win games. I think it's just been unbelievable what they've done.”
When fit, Boyce has displayed across stints with Northern Ireland, Ross County, Hearts and more that he is an instinctive goal scorer. Few have had worse luck on the injury front with serious knee injuries and hamstring problems in more than enough supply on his CV. At Hearts, he suffered a serious ACL injury alongside hamstring problems and again bad fitness luck has struck at Derry City. A hamstring problem ended his maiden season at Brandywell last August and he hasn’t returned yet this term due to a knee operation for a meniscus tear. He doesn’t do injuries by half measures, and waiting around on verdicts can prove brutal, but Boyce insists enthusiasm for football remains.
“I got hurt again one day before the first game of season so it was hard to take then,” he explained of his most recent setback. “Because I've done all the work, and done pre-season, got through it alright. I was running and my leg got stuck and then I had a wee problem with my knee. I got a scan and I just ended up needing a clean-up on my meniscus because it tore a wee bit, which I hadn't had before. I did my hamstring last season.
Liam Boyce gives Edinburgh derby verdict
“I think I had a load of games in a short space of time. I flicked the ball over someone's head and I tried to sprint. I was sliding to try and cross it because it was going to run out of play. The centre-back sort of pulled me just at the wrong time when I was starting to sprint and it was just the bottom of my hamstring had to get it operated on. It was the T-junction in my hamstring just popped, and because I've done it before, I knew right away what it was. I think it was a lot of games and my muscles were probably fatigued.
“I haven't really had niggly injuries that keep you out. I don't know how I would handle that, but when I get hurt, I actually get hurt properly. Not that it’s a good thing! If I do my knee, when you find out, I'd say it’s like a week where you're basically knocking on the door depression. It's like your world is ending sort of thing but I've done it a couple of times now. I know until you get your operation and stuff you feel like you're wasting time because you're not coming back. So you sort of take that time when you find out something bad happens to just get it all out of you basically.
“Then when you get the operation, the first day you go back into training, basically everything you're doing is to get back playing. That drives you on because it's more the sitting and waiting about on scan results to find out that’s really hard to take. Then you have to wait a week or two to get the operation. That time is the hardest because you just want to be doing stuff that is helping you get back. Once you get there, you know everything you're doing, and that sort of gives you motivation and it hasn't been that hard. When I'm in the gym and doing rehab, I'm easily motivated in that way, because I know every every rep I'm doing is one closer to being back playing.”
As he steps up his recovery from injury with running and working himself up to contact training, Boyce will continue to cast a close eye over Hearts’ title ambitions. He’ll be tuned into next Sunday’s Edinburgh derby clash with Hibs and it was a fixture the striker loved. Scoring in Hearts’ 2020 Scottish Cup semi final win over Hibs, he reckons there are some fundamentals his ex-side have to follow, in order to claim a priceless victory.
”It’s going to be unbelievable to watch,” added Boyce. “I always loved them games the most. The way both clubs give each other a full stand to watch the game just makes it so much better. I think with the pressure on to win the league and Hibs sort of having the chance to stop Hearts winning the league, it's going to be an unbelievable game. They always say in derbies, it’s the cliché, that form doesn't really matter going into it. I think it's just going to be who settles down, who plays the occasion the best, and making sure the outside noise affect doesn’t affect them.”