Former Inverness winger thrilled by Tynecastle move

Jordan Roberts insists he is thrilled to have signed a two-year deal at Hearts after becoming manager Robbie Neilson’s second summer signing.

The winger returned to Scottish football yesterday after spending the 2015-16 campaign with Inverness.

The 26-year-old joins as a free agent from Ipswich Town, where he also spent spells on loan at Lincoln and Gillingham.

Roberts said: “I’m over the moon to finally get it done. I was in today and saw some of the boys, met the manager and some of the staff and I’m delighted to be here at such a big club.

“It’s an opportunity for me to go out there and play again.

“I’ve seen Ann Budge and spoken to her and the direction the club wants to go in is perfect for me and a perfect opportunity. For me it was a no-brainer to come down here and see the stadium, the history behind the club and the direction the manager wants to go in.

“I think it was a big statement from him to come to Hearts after getting Dundee United promoted.

“It shows the intent in where he wants to go and for me that was a selling point, along with everything else that played a part in it as well.”

Neilson meanwhile admits his pre-season friendly plans are on hold because of a lack of available opposition.

The start of the Premiership has meant that none of the top-flight clubs are keen to engage in noncompetitive games in the coming weeks.

And with Hearts deciding to make an early return to training ahead of the Betfred Cup group stages and Championship kicking off in October, Neilson has also found it difficult to arrange warm-up matches with teams in the bottom three tiers.

He said: “The problem is that the Premiership teams have started so you can’t play against them and a lot of the Championship clubs and League One and League Two club haven’t started back yet, so we’ll probably have a period where we just train and look to get some games in in September.

“The players have been off for quite some time, generally in preseason you’re talking six weeks so they’re still in good condition.”

Robbie Neilson is struggling to arrange pre-season friendlies.