Robbie Neilson insists Kye Rowles wants to stay at Hearts - and will be an even better player for his World Cup experience. Interest is expected in the Australia defender after his performances helped the Socceroos reach the last 16 in Qatar.
Jambos chief executive Andrew McKinlay said this week it would take a “mind-boggling” offer for the club to even consider selling the summer recruit. But Neilson is comfortable that the player, who signed a three-year deal in June, wants to take his career to the next level at Tynecastle. Rowles has played only 10 times for Hearts.
And Neilson said: “He has done very well and the window is not open yet. Having spoken to Kye, he wants to stay here. He wants to play for the club and he wants to develop further. He has had a quick turnaround since coming in during the summer and then getting to the World Cup and doing so well.
"He realises he still has a lot to do before he can move up again. It's very early in his career here and I expect him to be here for a good period longer, that's for sure. I thought he would do well in Qatar, he’s a really good defender, a good type, a good boy. When you see the calibre of teams he was playing against you knew it would be difficult but I always thought he would do well so I’m pleased for him.”
Neilson is confident Rowles - who is suspended for Saturday's clash with Kilmarnock - will return from Qatar a better player. He said: "I think he would be. It's the same with anyone going away on international duty. You get that lift when you go and, if you do well, even better.
“Already you can see Kye is in good spirits. He misses the Kilmarnock game through suspension but we knew the calibre of player he was before he went.”
Meanwhile Neilson hopes his side can shut up shop at the back and push on to secure another third place finish now that they finally have their favoured back three fit. While Rowles will sit out Saturday’s clash through suspension, Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley are ready to go after a stop-start campaign.
In total Neilson has only been able to field his preferred back three for less than half an hour this season. He said: “Twenty-seven minutes, that’s all they’ve had together this season.
“That’s the kind of three first team centre backs we looked at, Stephen, Halkett and Rowles. In the initial part of the season we only got 27 minutes of them together. That was disappointing but hopefully now they can get more.
“The more they play together the more they get to know each other, it’s like the whole team to be honest. When you have that consistency of selection it helps and hopefully we can get back to that.
“When you look at some of the stats from last season and this, we’re actually scoring more goals but we’re conceding more so we need to be more solid at the back. That’s been one of the issues we’ve had with the injuries and rotation we’ve had to do at the back. There has been a bit of instability so hopefully having players back will help them.”
Hearts remain without injured Stephen Humphrys and Gary Mackay-Steven while Peter Haring has still to return to the fold after suffering concussion against Aberdeen two months ago. Beni Baningime and Liam Boyce are long term injuries. And Neilson knows Killie pose a serious threat having failed to beat them in two meetings this season.
He said: “It's still very tight because they are only six points behind us in the league. They are a strong, physical team with good energy, as Derek McInnes teams always have. I expect them to come out of that relegation area and be round about mid-table.
“They came here before and beat us in the League Cup, then we drew 2-2 down there when we got a last-minute equaliser. We know it's going to be a very tough game. We had a lot of possession in the game here but we didn't really threaten as much as we'd like in attack. That's something we need to make sure we amend tomorrow.”
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