Hearts will fly off to a Spanish training camp on Friday and Craig Halkett admits he'll finally have some sunshine on the horizon.
The Jambos defender is battling back from an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained against Dundee United on Boxing Day which brought a shuddering halt to his season. It's now five months down the line on the 28-year-old's lonely road to recovery but the defender told Record Sport he's pencilled in a September return and he spoke of the frustrations at being sidelined during months of turmoil at Tynecastle.
Months of frustration of having a powerless watching berth as Hearts parted company with Robbie Neilson following a horror run of results before Steven Naismith stepped up as caretaker and then technical director. Halkett revealed the former Scotland striker has warned his squad he's not interested in winning any popularity contests with a Europa Conference League third qualifying round looming.
He said: "One of the first things he said when he was appointed caretaker towards the end of the season was that he would manage and coach in the same style that he played the game. He wasn't here to make friends and he was going to be on the top of the boys in the exact same way he was as a player.
"He also pointed out that nobody should take anything personally.. He just demands the highest of standards in the same way as he did as a player. That's one of the reasons he had such a great career so he was laying a marker down from day one the way he would be working. It worked pretty well over the last six or seven games.
"The end of the season was difficult for everyone and not claiming third place was frustrating, especially for me as I missed the majority of the European games last season after looking forward to it for a long time. Everyone will now be pushing towards reaching the group stage again this year as it will give everyone something to look forward to."
The dismissal of Neilson back in April saw Naismith being handed the gig on Gorgie and Halkett believes it coincided with a shift in the dynamic within the Jambos dressing room. He said: He said: "It's difficult to say what changed when he first came in as caretaker. When you look at different sports, when a new voice and personality takes charge there is a shift in the dynamic, it happens everywhere.
"There always seems to be a new bounce and feeling which is created and we saw that with the coaching change at Hearts towards the end of the season, for whatever reason. Naisy came in and changed a couple of small things in training which had an impact and that automatically is taken into the games.
"That then starts to help the performances improve so there was definitely a shift in momentum when he came in. For whatever reason, before that when the drop happened, it's difficult to say exactly what was going wrong. It was just important for the boys to start playing well and picking up points again."
There's been a huge void in the Hearts backline with Halkett's absence but he's outlined a timeline for a return to action which will be music to the ears of the Hearts fans. He said: "All of the rehab work has gone pretty smoothly and I'm now just over five months since surgery.
"I've been back running for about one month and there was a break in between where I had two weeks off. It's about making sure I regroup and get ready to get going again.
"The running has been fine, it's about getting used to it again but I've been very happy with the progress I've been making. The plan is to work away from the physios and be with the first team for full training in September time.
"Then it's about getting as match fit and prepared as possible. Hopefully I'll be back and ready to play games at the end of September."
That ill-fated afternoon on Tayside didn't just cause searing pain but it also triggered a psychological challenge for Halkett who insists the mental test of coping with a long-term layoff has been a huge learning curve. He said: "It's been difficult and when I suffered the injury it was a hard pill to swallow.
"It's the first time I'd been dealt a blow of such a long-term injury. It had always been three or four weeks and there was a light at the end of a short tunnel.
"I knew I was going to miss out on so much and be a bit out of things at such a vital period in the season and I had no control on what was happening. I was forced to just sit back and watch even though I did my best to stay involved as much as I could by attending all of the games and offer wee bits of advice to some of the boys who were playing but it was difficult having to just sit and watch, especially throughout January and February when we went through a tough spell. Having to accept you can't help and coping with the mental side of being out for such a long time was the biggest learning curve.
"I don't want to miss out on anything but it's also important to take a break and get your head right.
"After being out for so long you also need to make sure you give your body a bit of a rest. With the injury happening midway through the season I had a couple of weeks off and I was right back into it, doing the rehab and trying to get going again."
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