Steven Pressley backing Craig Halkett & Co to rise again with Hearts

Former captain tips central defender to recapture the form he showed in early part of last campaign after tough pre-season

Craig Halkett will benefit from Hearts manager Robbie Neilson’s rigorous fitness regime says Steven Pressley. Picture: SNS.

There was a point last season when Hearts fans were falling over themselves to laud Craig Halkett.

Impressed by his defensive displays, his popularity was elevated by his propensity for popping up at the other end and, tapping into his early years as a striker, scoring important goals.

One supporter even took to Twitter to question, albeit slightly tongue in cheek, why anyone would crave Virgil van Dijk when they could have the former Rangers and Livingston man reinforcing their backline instead.

Back then, the player harboured hopes of a European finish as well as silverware, while the mood in the camp and predictions concerning the Gorgie outfit were all positive.

It was not the way the season panned out, personally or collectively, and the club is now facing an unexpected battle to bounce back from a bruising relegation.

But former Hearts captain Steven Pressley has some sympathy for the 25-year-old and the other Gorgie defenders and has backed them to reassert themselves when their season eventually gets underway. “There wasn’t a great deal of continuity, with [ex manager] Craig Levein going, then there was the interim manager and then Daniel Stendel came in as the new manager and that then meant a complete change to the tactical side of what was expected of Craig and the other defenders. It wasn’t an easy period for him,” said Pressley.

While there is no excusing the squad’s fall from grace and inability to escape the lowest realms of the Premiership standings, there were extenuating circumstances.

But with Robbie Neilson now in charge, Pressley believes the majority of the issues will be addressed over the next eight weeks before any meaningful games are even played.

Managerial continuity was one problem but the destabilising nature of so many injuries was another.

A knee injury midway through the season sidelined Halkett for two months and when he returned, he was a shadow of the man who sparked optimism at the beginning of the campaign.

“Because of circumstance, players were rushed back and pushed in when they weren’t as fit as they should be,” added the former captain. “One thing I know because of my relationship with Robbie, he is very strong on the fitness of his players and their physical conditioning and that will benefit a number of them but especially the defenders.

“That’s the biggest thing for me, and I am a real advocate of that because I think it is the most important aspect of being a top player and playing at your best, your physical condition. That has a big influence on your performance.

“I have said that the likes of Craig and even Christophe Berra and John Souttar, were rushed back and although they did that to try to benefit the team, it doesn’t do players any personal favours.”

It cost Berra his place in the team, loaned out to Dundee to see out the season, while Souttar picked up another injury and Halkett was criticised for his performances and the fact he looked to be carrying extra weight.

At a time when not enough goals were being scored to buy the side out of trouble, the often-calamitous nature of the soft goals conceded was only magnified.

But some of that criticism was unfairly attributed, according to Pressley, who said it is important to factor in the lack of faith the defence must have had in keepers who were unreliable, the chopping and changing of personnel, enforced and otherwise, and the approach of a new manager who had set the team out to press high up the field, leaving the centre-backs exposed and open to counterattacks.

“The really successful teams are generally built around a pretty consistent back four and goalkeeper and hopefully Hearts will get that again.

“That stability and confidence in the goalkeeper is massive,” added the man who skippered Hearts to their 2006 Scottish Cup triumph, delighted that his former team-mate Craig Gordon has returned to shore up that department.

“The problem for Hearts has been the number of injuries over this period and it is something I feel Riobbie will address through his training methods. Through pushing the players harder, we will see more consistent performances from players and a more consistent level of selection. That comes back to the physical conditioning of these players. Once he gets them to those levels he will see the benefits. He will see a far more settled team.”

That in turn will ease the burden on players like Halkett who continued to front up for media duties and address fans, while others abdicated responsibility and hid.

“That can be very draining as well, believe me,” explained Pressley, who played through the turbulent Save our Hearts era and the unpredictable Romanov years.

“The reality is, as a player, you want to turn up and have all the focus on performing to your highest level and not having distractions.

“But I think that for Robbie and the club, because of the turmoil of the last year, that the Championship, although many of us believe it was the wrong decision to relegate Hearts, will maybe give them the opportunity to bring greater stability back to the club. I think they will then be in a much better place the following year, with players in a far more confident state of mind as well.”

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