I won’t be a Wight night for Dundee
DUNDEE v HEARTS
CRAIG WIGHTON cemented legendary status on the blue side of Dundee with his 93rd-minute goal that relegated city rivals United in May 2016.
But that won’t stop him trying to pile on the agony for the Dens Park side today in their own fight for survival
The 21-year-old, who joined Hearts in August, could be thrown into the mix for the crunch clash after injury ruled Steven Naismith out for at least two months.
If he gets the nod Wighton admits he’ll have no second thoughts about delivering more pain to the support that still hold him in high regard.
He said: “I still get Dundee fans sending me videos of that goal. I get that a lot, it’s all anybody speaks about.
“It was a nice moment for me and my family but it was a while ago now so I don’t think about it too much.
“Of course I’d celebrate if I scored against Dundee.
“I appreciate what Dundee did for me but if I score my first goal for Hearts I’m going to celebrate, regardless of who it was against.
“I’ve good memories from Dundee. It’ll be nice to be back and I’d like to think it’ll be a BY ANTHONY HAGGERTY nice reception. But if I get the chance to play I’ll be looking to get off the mark.
“The longer I go on without a goal the more frustrating it gets so if I do play or come on I’ll be looking to score.
“I wouldn’t want to see Dundee relegated. I wouldn’t like to see that happen to the staff there. It’s never nice to see anybody go down or lose jobs or whatever.
“Hopefully they can stay up but hopefully we can get the three points and then they do well after that.”
Wighton had a bitter exit from Dens and admits he believes former boss Neil McCann didn’t do everything in his power to hold on to him.
He said: “I felt Dundee didn’t try their hardest to keep me so when I heard Hearts were interested I wanted to go.
“It was a no-brainer to come here. I wasn’t playing much there so I had to get away. I couldn’t turn down the chance to come here but Dundee fans are always good to me.”
Now Wighton – returning to first-team action after an ankle injury – admits he has a point to prove to Hearts fans.
He said: “It’s been a while but it’s good to be back.
“It’s been a bit frustrating with injury and the last few weeks I’ve not been up to speed so it’s important that I’ve had reserve games and I’m feeling sharp again.
“It was disappointing at first to get injured but it’s given me time to work on other things and settle in so it’s probably been a good thing in a way.
“I don’t think the Hearts fans have seen anything of me yet.
“The games I played in we were on a bad run and I never performed, then I got injured. That’s the frustrating thing.
“This is the best I’ve felt and if I do get a chance I’ll be ready. The manager brought me here for a reason.
“He thinks I can help the team and it’s good to know he believes in me even if I’ve had a couple of bad games.
“It’s up to me to repay him.”