Robbie Neilson reveals why Craig Halkett and John Souttar have greater chance of Scottish Cup final selection

Robbie Neilson admits John Souttar and Craig Halkett have a better chance of being included in Hearts’ Scottish Cup final team to play Rangers because of the position they play.
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The two central defenders both returned after injury spells to feature in the second half of Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to a youthful Ibrox side at Tynecastle.

Halkett postponed ankle surgery following his injury in the semi-final against Hibs a month ago, while it was a long wait for Souttar to return after being forced off with an ankle issue of his own in the 2-2 draw with Dundee United in early March.

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Neither being fit enough to start the league fixture against Rangers heightens concern the pair won’t be ready in time for showpiece encounter at Hampden Park.

John Souttar and Craig Halkett are looking to regain the required fitness to play in the Scottish Cup final. Picture: SNSJohn Souttar and Craig Halkett are looking to regain the required fitness to play in the Scottish Cup final. Picture: SNS
John Souttar and Craig Halkett are looking to regain the required fitness to play in the Scottish Cup final. Picture: SNS

But when asked by the Evening News if it would be easier to select Souttar and Halkett despite their lack of fitness due to the nature of the centre-back position, Neilson responded: “You saw that with wee Cammy [Devlin] coming back. He played 10-15 minutes on Wednesday and then he started and played the first half against Rangers. With those 45 minutes you need to work to get on the ball and he didn't have that at the moment.

“Centre-halves, though, can rely more on their positioning and their game knowledge.”

Souttar and Halkett (and Devlin) will all feature in a bounce game on Tuesday as Hearts try to improve both the fitness and match-sharpness of certain players who’ve been first-team regulars for the majority of this campaign.

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“It's all about the balance (weighing up first-choice over those with match-sharpness). It's the million dollar question. We'll need to pick one of them. That will come down to how the next couple of days in training go. We know how we're going to play, it's just about the personnel.

“Obviously we'd rather they were playing week in, week out. We've got a bounce game on Tuesday and I'll see how they do there. We'll give them every chance. They have to be ready to start the game.

“They've both had ankle problems so we need to monitor their short-and-sharp movements to make sure they're all right to get through the game.”

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