Robbie Neilson sets challenge for Hearts teens eyeing a first-team place

Harry Cochrane and Anthony McDonald have a chance to impress at Hearts.

September will largely determine which of Hearts’ emerging young talents belong in Robbie Neilson’s first-team squad. The next few weeks are effectively an audition for Riccarton academy graduates to prove themselves worthy of competitive action.

Teenagers Harry Cochrane, Anthony McDonald, Connor Smith, Chris Hamilton, Aidan Denholm and Scott McGill are at various stages of their development. They are all, to some extent, in Neilson’s thoughts beside five new signings – and more to follow.

The manager is preparing for a frenetic October with the Betfred Cup group stage beginning, followed by the Scottish Championship, and then an eagerly-anticipated Scottish Cup semi-final against Edinburgh rivals Hibs.

There are plenty cut-throat, high pressure challenges ahead as Neilson strives to win promotion at the first attempt. The youngsters deemed not quite ready for those demands will be loaned out to ensure they continue playing and don’t stagnate.

With no reserve league in Scotland this season due to coronavirus restrictions, Hearts will use this month’s bounce games and friendlies to assess who makes the cut for the first team.

“We need to have a look at them all. We need to get pre-season games arranged and give them an opportunity to show what they can do,” Neilson told the Evening News.

“A few of the younger ones have been out on loan – some successful, some not so successful. This is a clean slate for them to come in and try to prove themselves.

“They have been doing well in training every day and we've brought in a couple of under-18 players to train with the first team recently, Aidan and Scott.

“We are trying to assess them all but the issue we have is that we are not playing games, so you don't get the full picture of them.”

Players simply want game time on the pitch in meaningful situations. It will be another month before competitive action begins for Neilson’s squad, so every type of outing between now and then will carry real significance.

“The boys just want to play. We have had some bounce games and they are getting used to bigger areas again,” he explained. “They are competing against each other but in the bounce games it's hard to get the intensity you would get from a normal match.”

Hearts are restricted to bounce games for now with no other non-Premiership team in Scotland testing players. Official friendlies are not permitted until the 14th of the month at least.

A training match at Riccarton against Sheffield United last week offered some much-needed game time, followed by another outing at St Mirren on Wednesday. There will be others to come.

“We've got Denholm and McGill in training with us just to give them a bit of experience. They played against Sheffield United, which was great for them,” explained Neilson.

“Andy Irving and Connor Smith have been doing really well. Anthony McDonald has a wee injury at the moment, Chris Hamilton is involved with us and relishing the opportunity. A number of them are getting some game time. It's about seeing if they can do it consistently for us.

“We have a few bounce games coming up that they will be involved in and then we will decide. The decision will be whether they stay with the first-team group or whether we put them out on a development loan to another club to keep them progressing.

“There is no reserve league this year so we will just be taking bounce games as and when we need them for the younger guys. These boys need consistent football so a number of them will go out on loan.

“I need to decide first who is going out and what level we put them out to. I think it's important that they play first-team football one way or another.”

Cochrane and MacDonald both joined Dunfermline on loan last August before returning to Hearts in January. Cochrane made 12 appearances at East End Park but injuries restricted McDonald to just two.

With contracts in their final 12 months, a potentially decisive year lies ahead for the promising 19-year-olds. “They are both good players and this is the opportunity for them now to step up to the plate,” said Neilson.

“They had some success early in their careers and they've had some loan spells at other clubs. This is a chance for them to come back and prove to not just themselves but everyone that they can play consistently at this level.

“I've had loads of enquiries about our younger players from teams in the Championship, League One and League Two. What message we've given back is that we are going to assess them, see where they are and see what they think before any decision is made.”

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