NATHANIAL ATKINSON is confident Kye Rowles will be a success at Hearts after watching his Australia team-mate shine in the memorable World Cup play-offs.
Rowles is expected to jet into Edinburgh next week following paperwork delays over his move from Central Coast Mariners.
The 24-year-old will arrive on a high after helping the Socceroos clinch a place at the finals in Qatar at the end of the year.
In his first two competitive matches, Rowles was a stand out as Australia overcame the United Arab Emirates and Peru in the play-offs.
Atkinson was also part of the national team and the Hearts full-back has backed Rowles to become an important player at Tynecastle.
Atkinson said: “I can’t wait, I’ve been good mates with Rowlesy for a long time now.
“I was in the Australian youth teams with him and then the Olympics side.
“Then we came through in the Socceroos as well and qualified for the World Cup together.
“His first cap was the first qualifier and the second one was to qualify.
“For me, he was our best player in the qualifiers. He’s a terrific player and I think he’s going to bring a lot to this team and help us do well in Europe.”
Fellow Aussie Cammy Devlin is also at Hearts and with all three players having been part of their country’s Olympic squad, Atkinson is sure Rowles will have no issues settling in.
He added: “Cam is a bit of a handful on his own, so to add another Aussie is good.
“Cammy was a big help when I first came to this club and I want to do the same for Kye, help him settle in as well as possible because that will help him play his best football.”
Atkinson was given additional time off due to his international commitments but featured in Wednesday’s 2-1 victory at Tranmere.
The right-back will step up his preparations for the Premiership opener at home to Ross County on July 30 in this afternoon’s visit of Crawley Town.
He added: “I feel all right. I’ve only had a couple of sessions to get back into it.
“Obviously I had a bit of an extended break because I was away with the national team, but nearly 90 minutes against Tranmere will benefit me when the season starts.
“It’s definitely going to be a big season.
“We have some big games coming up early on and we’ve got European football to play.
“I’m looking forward, hopefully, to being selected for the World Cup, so these big games will benefit me and hopefully I can put in some good performances and have a good season.
“The best way to put my best foot forward and get into the Australia team is to perform for Hearts. I’ll take each game as it comes.”
