Hardy Haring happy to take the strain in midst of injury crisis
IF IT’S a little too early to class Peter Haring as a contender for Hearts’ player of the season, the Austrian deserves a special medal for valour.
While Craig Levein has witnessed his early-season pacesetters pull up with a crippling injury list, Haring has gritted his teeth and played on in the full knowledge that he will eventually need surgery on a hernia injury.
Christophe Berra, John Souttar, Steven Naismith, Uche Ikpeazu and Jimmy Dunne have all been stricken in recent weeks and so Levein has been pleased to find one of his less-heralded summer signings prepared to shoulder responsibility and play through the pain barrier.
The past few weeks may have been uncomfortable but Haring won’t complain.
‘I’m still managing my injury,’ he concedes. ‘I’m feeling it sometimes, especially when we have three games in a week.
‘But I do my recovery and I know how to manage it. As long as I feel well, there is no problem for me.
‘I’ve not been playing on because we are missing a couple of players — I just want to play football and enjoy it.’
It’s fair to say Levein didn’t imagine himself leaning on the 25-year-old in quite this way.
Billed as a centre-back when he made the switch from Austrian second-tier side SV Ried, Haring spent much of pre-season operating in a back three before a formation change in a Betfred Cup tie at Raith Rovers saw him pushed forward into midfield.
So integral has he become to the team set-up that even when both Berra and Souttar were ruled out long-term, he remained in his advanced role.
‘We were 1-0 down in that cup game and so the boss changed the system in the second half,’ recalled Haring. ‘He never really told me I was going to be playing midfield from then on — it just happened. I think I did well and that’s why I’ve stayed there.
‘I always played as a midfielder when I was younger and it was only three years ago when I moved from Rapid Vienna to the second league in Austria that I started playing as a defender.
‘I really like midfield. It suits me. You touch the ball more often and you are involved in attacks which I prefer.
‘There’s maybe a bit more action there too, especially in Scotland!’
Haring grew up in the Austrian county of Burgenland, south of Vienna, and was a Rapid fan throughout childhood, eventually joining the club’s youth ranks and later featuring for its second team.
Unable to make the final step to the first team, he moved to Austria Lustenau in the country’s second tier, transferring to Ried after two seasons.
His switch to Hearts raised eyebrows back home and, as one of only two Austrians operating in the SPFL Premiership (Kilmarnock keeper Daniel Bachmann is the other) he has drawn a fair amount of media attention back home.
By moving away Haring caught the spotlight and dreams that one day he might move into the sights of national coach Franco Foda.
‘It’s a dream of every footballer to play for his country, it’s the biggest honour you can get,’ he admits. ‘But at the moment our team is full of top players from the German Bundesliga, the Premier League and the best teams in Austria.
‘It’s very tough to get in there but of course if there is any chance to get in there in future then I would be honoured.’
While Vienna and Salzburg rank among the prettiest European cities, Haring admits he has been bowled over by Edinburgh.
Levein’s policy of overhauling his playing squad over the summer may have risked turbulence, but it gave each of the new signings a little social gang with whom to explore a city which, according to a survey published by global consultancy firm Arcadis earlier this month, is the best place in the world in which to live.
‘I had never been here before but everyone told me I’d love it,’ says Haring. ‘It’s a beautiful city. When you come to a new city you just try to see everything as fast as possible and that’s what I did. I walked round every day, went to Arthur’s Seat and the castle too.
‘There were a lot of new players here in the summer so it was easy for us to socialise — we were all looking for new relationships.
‘We would go for a coffee together after training, go for dinner and things like that.’
Hearts will round off 2018 by making the short trip for a derby tear-up with rivals Hibernian.
As Hearts entered their form slump in the wake of a 3-0 defeat to Celtic in the Betfred Cup semifinal, so Hibs were caught in the grips of a decline.
They managed to arrest that slide by beating Celtic last weekend before holding Rangers on Wednesday, but they had to fight back to earn a share of the spoils at home to Livingston yesterday.
Traditionally strong at Easter Road, Hibs will fancy themselves next Saturday and Haring knows there’s no use in Hearts moaning about the continuing injury crisis.
The Austrian’s headed winner against Motherwell ended Hearts’ run of seven games without victory but a subsequent 5-0 thrashing at Livingston offered proof that the squad’s underlying issues have not yet been resolved.
Without Naismith in particular, there has seemed a lack of purpose to the Tynecastle side’s attacking play but Haring knows there is no point in expecting the Scotland man to effect a turnaround on his own.
‘Maybe it will be a little bit easier when we have all our players back but you never know how it is after a long injury,’ he continued. ‘Soapy (Souttar), Uche and Naisy have all had operations, so you never know how they will feel after so long out.
‘As a team we should not think about getting our players back. We have to get results without them.
‘It’s a tough time without them — we were flying at the start and now we have been struggling to win games. It’s been pretty hard but we need to prove our mentality. We shouldn’t wait.
‘To experience a full Tynecastle is something special and our fans have been so important for us this season.
‘Right now it’s a tough time for them. We didn’t expect to win so many games at the start of the season so we are still in a good position. Now it’s time to get back on the winning track.’