NO PRISONERS
Whelan poised for Hearts exit and others will follow as boss Stendel takes...
DANIEL StENdEL is trying to be nice. He really is. In his current situation, though, reality simply must trump diplomacy.
Set your watch, then, for Glenn Whelan’s swift departure from tynecastle. And watch this space for others to follow.
the new Hearts boss cannot wait much longer for current players to raise themselves and rouse themselves.
that much was clear to anyone who listened to the German coach pull apart his squad with precise, painful understatement yesterday.
Stendel, still hoping to be reunited with former Barnsley centre-half Liam Lindsay, left veteran Republic of Ireland midfielder Whelan out of the match-day squad entirely for thursday’s home loss to Hibs.
And, while he can’t fault the character or work rate of a player who turns 36 on January 13, the German admits that Whelan is no longer able to lead by example at the heart of a struggling team.
‘I can say Glenn is a good type,’ said Stendel. ‘He wants to take the responsibility but I have seen only three games.
‘do you have the feeling he is a leader in this group? It’s not his fault — but a real leader in the centre of the pitch? Sorry. Maybe I missed it.
‘Before I came here, they signed players who have experience and are the right age to take the responsibility.
‘Maybe they are not fit or they cannot handle the situation at the moment. this is a big point for us.
‘We can bring one in. But we can improve one other player to take more responsibility.
‘Some players need one they can look at in games and think: “Yeah, he’s great, he wants to go this way” — and he can help other players. We need some leaders.’
Having lost his first four games as Gorgie gaffer, the worst start by any Hearts manager since 1938, Stendel is understandably preoccupied by the need to improve when Aberdeen come calling tomorrow.
But he cannot ignore the need to overhaul a squad carrying excessive dead weight and drastically short on bodies athletic enough to play his much-discussed up-tempo style of football.
Although former interim boss Austin MacPhee is supposed to be heavily involved in the January recruitment process, according to owner Ann Budge, Stendel clearly wants to focus on players he knows.
Lindsay certainly fits that bill, while MacPhee’s international link to new Stoke boss Michael O’Neill might grease the wheels of a proposed loan deal for the £2.5million summer signing.
‘At the moment, I can’t say we will bring in this player or that player,’ said Stendel.
‘What I can say is I would prefer in this situation that I know the players a little bit more than just knowing they are a good player. Because every good player is not the best player for us.
‘We need the right mentality and the right attitude — and we need them not to be injured every two weeks.
‘We can have the best player but if he can play only five games…
‘this is the reason I’d prefer, that if we bring in players, they are ones I know can help us immediately — and not in four weeks and six weeks.’
Stendel is desperately striving to avoid going full terry Butcher, as veterans of the Edinburgh football scene might describe the practice of taking over at a club and then publicly slating virtually every single squad member as unfit for purpose.
He is searching for the bright spots amid the gloom. And it only makes him sound even more disappointed in what he has found at tynecastle.
‘It’s unbelievable that Aaron Hickey is on the pitch,’ added Stendel of the 17-year-old leftback, who has become virtually the first name on his team sheet.
‘I didn’t expect this from him. But every week he surprises me.
‘Before I came here, I saw he played more games than anyone expected, so maybe he needs a rest. But we cannot give him a rest because he has been our best player in the last four games.
‘He is our youngest player and we need to decide the best for the team and also the best for him.
‘I think, when I work with Aaron and he gets some players next to him who can help him, he can improve so much more.
‘At the moment, he is good, but he can be really good. I want to bring him there but, right now, I can’t tell him it’s better for him to rest because it is not the time.
‘I trust the players and believe they can play better. I can see they want to change things. Some players have done it and have improved.
‘One example is Sean Clare. When I came, the supporters were cheering when he came off.
‘In the last games, though, he has shown he can help us, that he wants to improve. this is a good sign. But other players, I wait for a reaction. I wait for more.’