Olly Lee reveals his Hearts scoring target as he aims to join in with prolific team-mates

In a Hearts team which has plundered 42 goals in 16 games this season, Olly Lee is slightly disappointed that only three are his.

Olly Lee wants more goals for Hearts.

The Englishman’s scoring target remains ten and he is confident of getting in on the act more often in 2021. Hearts travel to Dundee this afternoon after finding the net 17 times in their last four fixtures, including the Scottish Cup final against Celtic.

Lee views himself as a goalscoring midfielder and wants to contribute more having been spurred on by the ruthlessness of some colleagues.

“I've been setting a few up but not scoring as many as I'd like. As long as the team is scoring and winning, that's the main thing. I would like to be chipping in with a few more,” he said.

“I'd like to get ten. I've got three just now so I'll be chipping away at that. I keep getting into the box and getting a few chances, so that's the main thing. Eventually I'll go on a little run and have a scoring glut to get the tally up.

“We have a lot of good attacking players and even our full-backs are chipping in. We've got goals from all over the pitch and that's what every successful team needs. You can't just rely on strikers to score the goals, you need everyone contributing.”

You would be mistaken for thinking Hearts’ scoring exploits indicated an easy time in the Scottish Championship. They have reached heights at times and blown teams away, including Dundee in the first league game, but have also experienced lulls.

“It's been tough. The games are hard,” stressed Lee. “A lot of teams sit back and it's 11 men behind the ball so you've got to break them down. We've been quite good at that and been able to do it but I think the teams are underrated up here.

“They get a lot of grief that they're not great but there are good sides and good players here. Every week is a big test for us. We have to keep winning the battle first and then our qualities can shine through.

“When Hearts roll up, teams want to beat us. It's a big event for them. It's like when we go to Celtic or Rangers and want to beat them. It's nice to have that target on your back. It fills you with confidence that you need to go out and show just how good you are.

“Us and Dundee were seen as two of the main threats in the league, so whenever we play them it's going to be a big game. We played really well against them first time thanks to a good early start. That's what we wanted. We set the tone for the season and we'll look to repeat that this weekend.”

Hearts overcame the disappointment of losing the aforementioned cup final to beat Ayr United and Arbroath in their previous two games. “We were all devastated with how the cup final went. We did ourselves proud with a good performance but it wasn't meant to be,” said Lee.

“After going so close, it was a tough couple of days afterwards. Thankfully we got back to business in the league, which is what matters. Getting promoted is the main thing.”

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