Robbie Neilson admits Hearts may have to be more aggressive in the final week of the transfer window than they had initially planned after suffering further injuries.
Kye Rowles and Liam Boyce were both on the scoresheet in the Jambos’ 3-2 win over St Johnstone at Tynecastle, but both were forced off after scoring. Rowles injured his foot as he landed, having just powered a header beyond Remi Matthews to cancel out Graham Carey’s opener. Boyce headed the hosts into the lead, but was later stretchered off after hurting his knee in attempting to make a tackle. Replacement Lawrence Shankland scored the winner from the penalty spot with nine minutes left after Andy Considine had nodded in at the back post to make it 2-2.
Nathaniel Atkinson also limped off with a groin problem so now recruitment may have to be stepped up. German midfielder Orestis Kiomourtzoglu was confirmed on a three-year deal before the game, signing from Eredivise outfit Heracles Almelo.
Neilson wanted another couple of bodies in the door anyway. But he admits that that figure may have to be revised depending on scan results. “Firstly I’m delighted to get the three points but disappointed to lose a couple of players as well,” he told BBC Scotland. “We’ve picked up a few injuries and the squad was down to the bare bones going into the game.
“Fingers crossed we can get some of them back for Wednesday and hopefully these guys aren’t as bad as first thought. But all in all, it was a pleasing performance coming off the back of a massive game against Zurich on Thursday night.
“We have to rotate the squad to bring that energy and freshness. We’ve spoken all along about having quality over quantity and that’s what we’re trying to do. The guys that came in today are at a similar level, they play the same way. We pick up three points and move onto the cup game.Injuries today might have to make us a bit more aggressive in the market but we’ll see with that.
“Kye’s hurst his foot, his metatarsal so that will get scanned tonight or tomorrow. Liam hurt his knee and we’ll get that scanned and then Atkinson with his groin. It’s very early days and we really hope they’re just light injuries and we get them back, but we can't tell just now.
“Liam’s massive for us. Not just goalscoring but his link play and his hold up. He’s a top, top player and we really hope that it’s just a mild one.
“We’ve always had a plan to bring in a couple more, but the injuries to these guys, depending on the scan results might alter that. We might need to be more aggressive, but we’ll deal with that when it comes.”
Callum Davidson was “furious” with the manner in which his team conceded Hearts’ winner. They went from a long throw deep in their opponents’ half to Liam Gordon bringing down Barrie Mckay within seconds.
“There’s frustration at how we lost the third goal,” he said. “We fought really hard but first half we didn’t play particularly well. Second half, we got back into the game with a really good response from the players and I think we were slightly on top.
“We had a free-kick two minutes before it where we play the ball long, they pick up seconds and counter. Then we do a long throw, Craig Gordon catches it and they basically go 3-2 up from it. To me, that’s just a basic part of football and you have to do it better. I’m pretty furious to be honest with you.”
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