The Conference League midfielder is eager to get off to a great start.
It will require patience and effort to pull Hearts out of their current rut. Awaiting the hiring of a new permanent manager, the Edinburgh club go to Azerbaijan to commence their UEFA Conference League season behind closed doors against Dinamo Minsk on Thursday. They urgently need momentum and midfielder Blair Spittal knows the desire for success.
In Saturday’s match against Ross County, captain Lawrence Shankland scored his first goal of the year in stoppage time. In addition, Hearts gained a point and ended a string of eight straight losses. It should be emphasised that following a 1-1 home draw against the Highlanders, nobody at Tynecastle Park was celebrating. Nevertheless, Spittal found some silver lining in the exhausting journey to Sumqayit.
Liam Fox, the interim manager, and assistant Lee Wallace are in task of motivating a team that has performed terribly thus far this season. “Waldo and Foxy will devise a strategy. It’s something to anticipate,” Spittal said the Edinburgh News. “We are not delusional about the fact that the season has not gotten off to a spectacular start. There are no fans but this game is something the club can look forward to. This European campaign has to get off to a strong start.
The league is our main source of income, and things haven’t gone well enough to begin with. Everyone is aware of that. On Saturday, when many things could have gone wrong for us, we showed resilience by rallying to win a point. We must carry over the small amount of enthusiasm that the last-minute goal gave us into Thursday.
“Confidence grows from results. You can probably understand that when it’s time to play forward, we might pass backward. On other occasions, when it’s not necessary, we throw balls into the box and hurry things up. That will occur. Many players have had an inconsistent season, so it’s important to establish a small sense of rhythm and build relationships everywhere on the pitch.
Although it’s easier said than done, Spittal believes that being more courageous when in possession will help open up defences, which will probably be needed against Dinamo. “I believe so. You may expect a player to play that pass since it comes with the rhythm, according to Spittal. “They get deeper and there’s less space when you play a team like Ross County and they’re ahead 1-0. Any ball we play in behind them needs to be absolutely flawless because they have a lot of play ahead of them.
It has to do with the sophisticated play that we believe our team possesses. We most likely didn’t demonstrate it, but eventually it will. On Thursday, the game will be distinct from the others. Like [Viktoria] Plzen, they defended deep and tried to catch us on the counterattack in the second leg. Even if we had trouble breaking them down that evening, we will examine strategies to strengthen those bonds and assist us in achieving our goal over the coming days.
“Foxy has a good desire to play. He has an interim position, and the work has been extremely demanding. It was pleasant, there was clarity, and he and Waldo were able to get their points through. So far, working with him has been enjoyable.
“On Saturday, we got off to a strong start and had several opportunities. It’s a whole new ball game if one of them enters, despite the cliche. In this league, the first goal is crucial, and you saw that as soon as County scored. There’s not much you can do about the fact that it’s a huge hit. Teams will sit deep and invite you on to them in those circumstances. We could have done a slightly better job with the ball. Even though we ultimately came out on top with a point, we’re not satisfied. Though we won’t be dancing and singing about it, we will learn valuable lessons from it.
“We can consider certain criteria for Thursday, such as the demonstrated togetherness and character. It would have been simple to let the shoulders drop given the current run we’re on, but I felt the boys were still willing to take the ball and attempt to make things happen. Although it was a little bit huffy and puffy, we ultimately achieved the goal. Given his performance and the opportunities he wasted, Shanks most likely earned it. He was extremely unlucky to strike the crossbar, miss with his header, and have [Ross] Laidlaw make a fantastic save to deny him a goal. Even though you doubt that today will be good for you, we persisted.
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