The publication of the Premiership league table for the whole of 2022 showing Hearts as the third-best team in the land would not have raised many eyebrows. This has been a year to remember for the Tynecastle club, unrivalled as they finished best-of-the-rest last season, reached the Scottish Cup final and qualified for European group football for the first time since 2004.
What did come as a bit of a surprise, however, was how narrow the gap was to Livingston in fourth (goal difference) and St Mirren in fifth (three points), not quite the gaping chasm one may have expected. That Hearts aren’t streets ahead of the others can be traced to their stuttering start to this season, where those extended European commitments and a treatment room resembling a scene from a war movie served to disrupt their domestic form.
It is noticeable that they have returned from the World Cup break with a heightened sense of purpose, something that ought to alarm crisis-ridden rivals Hibernian ahead of tomorrow’s Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle. Hearts’ injury list never seems to get any shorter – Craig Gordon, Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley were the latest high-profile figures to join – but the removal of their UEFA Europa Conference League obligations after eight memorable but taxing ties ought to make things easier in the second half of the campaign.
Robbie Neilson’s men eased back into third place after Wednesday’s win over St Johnstone and it will take a colossal effort to shift them from there, especially with traditional contenders such as Aberdeen and Hibs toiling. That scenario ought to leave the Hearts players with a strong sense of self-satisfaction at the turn of the year, but that is not the impression given by Andy Halliday.
A frown traverses the midfielder’s brow as he thinks back to the messy start to the season, where points were spilled and goals leaked at a rate not befitting a team with aspirations of pushing the Old Firm all the way, even if he concedes there have been mitigating factors.
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“I think consistency has been something we have struggled with from the start of the season, whether that is the names on the teamsheet or results,” he said. “So we wanted to regroup at the break and have a few training sessions where we could knuckle down and carve our identity and what we want to be.
“That’s now three games since we came back. We wanted to get three wins, but we will take seven points - that’s not too bad. When I look back on 2022 as a whole I think it could have been better. I don’t think there is any doubt about that.
“We look back at last season and in the first nine games we had seven wins and two draws. And when you compare that to the start of this season, we were a wee bit short. But I do think we showed on numerous occasions, in Europe and domestically, that we can be a very good side.
“It is hard for any team when you don’t have that consistency on your teamsheet. I’m not trying to give you a hard luck story because every team has got to go through difficult periods. But we have got to try to get back to that consistency that we had last season.”
European football can often be so damaging physically and mentally for Scottish clubs that it seems almost perverse for continental qualification to be set as an annual aspiration. Hearts took numerous towsings in their maiden voyage into UEFA’s third club competition but that hasn’t prevented Halliday from wanting to go through it all again next season.
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“I would have full belief in this team [in the second half of the season] whether we were still in Europe or not,” he added. “The incentive of Europe was what drove us to third last year and now that we have had a taste of it we want to get back there.
“I feel we are a very good side and there is quality throughout the squad but just that little bit of consistency has been lacking. I’m a big believer that when you look back at the end of the season, nine times out of 10 it’s the teams that concede the fewest goals that finish higher up. That is something we are trying to rectify.”
Every team endures injuries but there is no doubt Hearts have suffered more than most. When Halliday wanders through to the treatment room at their Riccarton training ground for a cup of tea there is always someone around to stop and chat to.
“Physio rooms are often the busiest place for all the wrong reasons and people are in there having a bit of banter,” he revealed. “But when you go in there every morning you can’t move! It is like sardines week to week.
“It is really disappointing because we know we have a lot of big players in there. But you look at the injury list we’ve had then look at the teams we are still managing to put out and that shows how good a squad we are.
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“Fingers crossed we can continue to get players back and the others stay fit. Until then it is up to the boys who are fit to put our bodies on the line and get the points.”
