NEILSON’S FIRM FAITH IN STYLISH SOUTTAR IS PAYING OFF
PLENTY would have advised Robbie Neilson to s t eer cl ear. Plenty are being proven wrong. Sure, eyebrows were raised when Hearts spent £150,000 on John Souttar in the closing hours of the January transfer window. One-hundred-and-fifty grand? That might as well be £15million for most Scottish clubs in the current climate.
But Neilson had seen enough in a player singled out for scathing criticism by anguished Dundee United fans, constantly questioned by nay-sayers who doubted his strength of body and mind, his character and his appetite for a battle.
Early indications are that, in return for his belief in a 19-year-old already written off as a busted flush by too many, Neilson may well have been rewarded with a bargain for the ages.
Two starts, two clean sheets and two wins into his Tynecastle career, Souttar — so feted as a 16-year- old Sunderland were willing to pay £1m for him — is back to doing what he does best. Making the game look easy.
Neilson, who believes that being freed from the restraints of United’s relegation battle will allow the youngster to flourish, insists he never had any doubts over a player who walked away with Man of the Match honours from Saturday’s home win over Kilmarnock. A fitting reward for starring at centre-half and then, f ollowing Callum Paterson’s shoulder injury, at right-back.
Responding to the impression that Souttar (pictured) is too soft to succeed, the Hearts head coach said: ‘Look, I had watched him loads of times, so I knew he was a good player.
‘I think sometimes people look at it and, if you’re a ball-playing centre- half, they think that means you’re not going to win headers. They just expect their central defenders to go and empty everything.
‘John is strong, physical, very quick — but he’s also got great technique on the ball, as well. Some people just look at that and think a big, tough centrehalf should just shell the ball up the park. John doesn’t do that, he passes it. But he’s also got good physicality.
‘I knew he was a good player, that’s the reason we paid money for him. We don’t usually pay money for young players like that but, when you see a player t hat is available and has real potential, then it was a no-brainer to bring him in.’
Souttar himself says he feels more comfortable competing at the business end of the table, having found United’s struggles this season something of a shock to the system.
Even as he was scuffling away in a losing team, though, Neilson could see a composure about his target. If he has come on a little quicker than expected, that is just a welcome surprise.
‘I think any young player who is trying to break through into a team, if that team is at the bottom of the league, it’s going to be tough,’ he said. ‘Especially if you are a young player who wants to play passing football.
‘I think John found it difficult at Dundee United because of the situation the team was in, as opposed to his own form.
‘I thought his form was good. I watched him in several matches. He played central midfield against Celtic and set up the goal for United.
‘And the really pleasing thing about him in that game was that he kept taking the ball. For me, that’s a player. If a player is in a team losing a game, struggling at the bottom of the league, but he still wants the ball, that shows he’s got confidence. We can see that already.
‘He knows Sam Nicholson, he knows Callum Paterson, he knows Jordan McGhee — so he has settled in no problem.
‘He arrived here and moved straight in with Sam, so already he’s part of the group. There were no issues about him settling in at the club.
‘He was initially coming in as a development player, you know that, but he has performed, trained brilliantly and worked his way into the team.
‘He played centrehalf and then rightback on Saturday and, already, you can see that he’s got a lot of quality.
‘I see John as a centre-half. That’s where his long-term position will be but, when Callum went off on Saturday, he shifted over to right-back and he’s played there quite a lot of times for Dundee United, so it wasn’t an issue for him.’
With Gordon Strachan talking about calling up ‘some young players who have caught the eye’ for Scotland’s next friendlies, there may well be a few at Hearts —if not Souttar, then certainly Nicholson, and maybe Jamie Walker — who are hopeful of representing their country. Neilson says he understands why the national manager tends to shy away from the Scottish Premiership in favour of the top two English divisions — but would be pleased if that changed soon. ‘ If you’re playing well, it doesn’t matter what league you’ re in,’ he said. ‘It’s up to Gordon, but I can see his thinking. The English Premier League is the top league in the world a nd t he Championship is fantastic, too. ‘Those two leagues are better than our Premiership but, if the players are doing well, they should be looked at and taken into consideration. ‘I know for a fact that Gordon does that and looks at players because I see him at games all the time.’