Midfielder Olly Bozanic determined to make impact at Hearts

Olly Bozanic remains confident he can make his presence felt at Hearts after a slow start to his time at the club.
Olly Bozanic has played 16 minutes of Premiership action for HeartsOlly Bozanic has played 16 minutes of Premiership action for Hearts
Olly Bozanic has played 16 minutes of Premiership action for Hearts

The 29-year-old Australian internationalist hasn’t started a match since the Betfred Cup draw away to Raith Rovers in July and has enjoyed only 16 minutes of Premiership action, as a late substitute in the home win over Celtic last month.

Bozanic, who arrived at Tynecastle on a two-year contract in June, is unfazed by the stiff competition for places in Hearts’ midfield and is determined to force his way into the starting line-up in the coming weeks and help the league leaders maintain their early momentum.

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“My main objective is to be in the team playing,” he said. “The boys are doing fantastically at the moment, we’ve won every game, so I just need to do everything I can to keep on the toes of everyone and prove that I should be playing every week.

“It’s great to see the team doing so well and I feel a part of that – it’s a team effort – but like any player, I want to be in the side and that’s my main objective.

“The vibe is really good, it’s really positive, every week there is a desire to improve and guys like myself are pushing to get in the starting 11. We are all working towards keeping this winning run going.”

Bozanic, who got some game time under his belt in the Monday’s victory over Hibs in the Reserve Cup, is hoping the arrival of his wife Felicity and daughter Isabelle will coincide with him getting more first-team action.

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“I’ve finally got my family over with me in Scotland, which was a bit of a battle,” he explained.

“They arrived on Sunday after a whole lot of visa issues but thankfully the are finally allowed in. These are big things when you are settling in to a new city – it’s your family – so it’s great to have that all sorted and look forward to hopefully being part of the team and playing my part even more.”

Bozanic watched Hearts team-mate Ben Garuccio head off to join the Australia squad at a training camp in Turkey and the midfielder hasn’t given up hope of earning an international recall himself. He was part of the Socceroos squad at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but hasn’t featured for his country for three-and-a-half years.

“Once I’m established in the Hearts team, that’s where I want to be,” said Bozanic. “I definitely want to be back in the national set-up. That’s a dream and one of the big reasons I came across to Hearts. To be back in Europe, playing in a top league and to be available for my national team.”