Hearts winger Jordan Roberts 'realistic' about future

Jordan Roberts was involved in the friendly with Sunderland on Saturday. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

He didn't feature against Cove Rangers but was back in action on Saturday when Sunderland won 2-0 at Tynecastle Park in a friendly.

It hasn’t been plain sailing for the Englishman since arriving at Hearts last summer.

The 27-year-old is like any footballer, he wants to be playing regularly.

“From a personal point of view, I obviously want to be playing football and hopefully I can get some games here. If not, you have to be realistic about things and see where your future lies.

"At the minute I'm a Hearts player and I'll give my all while I’m here and go from there.”

Getting confidence back

Roberts was one of a number of players in the same boat last season, moving to a new city and joining a new team in difficult circumstances during the pandemic.

He did find joy during a fruitful loan spell at Motherwell, scoring three times, including against Hibs in a 2-0 win in the Premiership at Easter Road.

The player found confidence and he wants to take that into this season at Hearts.

“I wasn't playing here so I needed to get out and play,” he said. “I got my confidence back which was the main thing and most of the lads will tell you that.

“Playing is all about confidence and you want to feel like you're important, you're the main man and you thrive off that. But I'm back here now and I’m a Hearts player until told otherwise.

"Just from the mental side of things. If you’re not playing, you're not happy and you don't want that to be the case. I'm 27 now and I want to look back on seasons with games under my belt.

“As a player, that's what you want and I'm always realistic about things. If that's not here to play then there might be an opportunity elsewhere and I'll maybe look at that.

“But that's ahead of me and I want to give my all here until told otherwise."