Exclusive:The Blair Pitch Project: Spittal helping Hearts turn into a different animal
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From perilous to prosperous inside a month, suddenly Hearts’ season looks to be flourishing. Seven games unbeaten in all competitions, five wins and two draws, plus 13 goals scored in the last three matches alone. Whisper it, because no-one is swaggering along Gorgie Road puffing cigars just yet, but Hearts now seem like a very different animal.
New signings certainly help. Elton Kabangu and Jamie McCart have both been outstanding since arriving in Edinburgh at the start of January. Kabangu, the on-loan Union Saint-Gilloise striker, claimed five goals in four games so far to become the latest darling of the Hearts support. McCart’s slightly more understated efficiency in defence is no less important and marks him out as a shrewd capture from Rotherham United for just £70,000.
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Hide AdHead coach Neil Critchley has overseen a climb from 11th place to seventh in the Scottish Premiership, thus easing relegation fears at Tynecastle Park. Saturday’s 6-0 demolition of Dundee was the finest away performance by a Hearts team in many years. Other new arrivals like Michael Steinwender and Sander Kartum will filter into the starting line-up over the coming weeks.
A more established face helping influence the recent upturn is Blair Spittal. His raking left-footed shot into the top corner of Dundee’s net was one of several exquisite Hearts goals at the weekend. He also teed up Lawrence Shankland for the opening goal and supplied the free-kick which led to Musa Drammeh scoring the fourth. In total, the midfielder has six goals, four assists and numerous pre-assists to his name this season.
Those contributions aside, a roving role on the left side gives him licence to create and cause general havoc among opponents. Spittal’s tendency to drift inside onto his favoured right foot also generates space for the adventurous James Penrice to gallop forward from left-back. And don’t forget the swirling free-kicks and corners he delivers every week. Signed as a free agent from Motherwell last summer, he is very much worth the gamble.
“It's a nice feeling,” said the midfielder after scoring at Dens Park. “I've said numerous times that you're kind of judged by contributions in terms of goals and assists. It was nice to see that one go in. I scored a similar one away at Livingston last year when I was at Motherwell. As soon as I connected with the ball again, I knew it was heading for the top corner. It was a really good feeling.
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Hide Ad“I think Saturday was up there with the best we've played since the manager came in. We put in a couple of good performances at the start and then over the last couple of weeks it's all been kind of grinding out wins. The momentum has been building, I think the start to the game on Saturday helped with that. Lawrence getting his goal and then quickly, when you get the second, it takes the stuffing out of Dundee. We started the second half well and Elton gets his goal. The manager said the third goal in any game is crucial. So it was important that we started well and then you see the confidence coming out of the boys the longer the game goes on.”
READ MORE: Hearts hope over Kabangu’s deal
Hearts’ last defeat was against Hibs in the Boxing Day Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle. The upward trajectory since then has some supporters confident of European qualification. So what has changed? “I'm not really sure, to be honest,” replied Spittal. “Since the derby, disappointing as that was, we play against Ross County and you see the way that game went. I thought we controlled the game for large spells given how bad the conditions were. Then obviously what happens at the end of that game, you think that it may have an adverse effect.
“I think we've bounced back, shown a real character and the mentality to go out there and make sure that we're taking points from games. Momentum is a massive thing in football and we're starting to build that. It was important that we keep ourselves in amongst it in the league. We've managed to do that the last couple of weeks, but we're not getting carried away. There is still a lot of work to do.
“We're in a position that we don't want to be in the table. But, you know, teams around us are picking up wins as well. It's just important that you stay in amongst it and, with the momentum that we've got behind us now, it's massive. We've got to park the league for a wee spell now, we've got St Mirren to focus on next Monday. We know how tough that game is going to be, so we need to be ready.”
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Hide AdSpittal knows seventh place would never be acceptable at Hearts and no-one at Riccarton will rest thinking that it is. “I think, given the start that we had in the league, it was unacceptable,” he added. “But, with the position that we're in now and the points gathered since the manager came in, it's been really good. We need to keep going and make sure that we're still picking up points.”
As mentioned, the Scottish Cup takes precedence this weekend. Hearts visit St Mirren in the last of the fifth-round ties on Monday night. “We know the opportunity that we've got,” stressed Spittal. “St Mirren are a good team and at home they are really strong. We need to be ready for that and put in a similar level of application. We know what they're going to bring to the game. We need to be ready for that and then, hopefully, the quality that we've got will hopefully shine through.
“It's all about keeping this momentum going. We know the importance of the cup to the club. It was really tough in the last game at Brechin, considering the conditions as well. The pitch wasn't the best and then there was the goal they scored, but I thought we were really professional in that game. We need to make sure now that we know the opportunity we've got to get into a quarter-final of a cup - and we need to make sure we take it.”