Spell at steelmen ups Elliot mettle

CALUM ELLIOT admits the disappointment he felt at being farmed out to Motherwell at the start of this season soon turned to determination to prove he's got what it takes to make the grade at Tynecastle.

The 19-year-old says his spell with the Steelmen, which saw him gain vital experience of regular first-team football, has resulted in a new-found confidence which will hopefully turn him into a first-pick for the remainder of the season.
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In fact he believes the four months he spent at Fir Park were so beneficial to him that he's urging the club's other rising stars to grasp the chance of a loan deal if they're offered it - because it could be the best career move they could ever make.

Elliot featured in just three matches for Hearts this season, twice from the bench, before making the move to Maurice Malpas' side. Competition for a place up front at Tynecastle was intense with the likes of Michal Pospisil, Roman Bednar and Edgaras Jankauskas, not to mention Jamie Mole all vying for a spot in the first-team.

Elliot insists however, that he never believed that his Hearts career was coming to an end.

He was disappointed not to score more than the two goals he has to his name in the claret and amber colours of Motherwell but the young hitman has returned to Hearts with an air of self assurance and a belief that he can make the grade under Valdas Ivanauskas.

While relieved to be back at the club he considers home, Elliot insists that the positives of a loan move far outweigh the negatives.

He said: "I would say that it has been beneficial for me. I was maybe a bit disappointed to begin with but I gained more first-team football experience.

"It's good to find out what it is like being at a different club, working with different managers and coaches and hopefully that will help me for the future. I hope that I have come back a better player, that's the whole reason that I went there in the first place.

"I hope that the whole thing has been beneficial to me and to Hearts.

"Only time will tell but I feel more confident now.

"To gain first-team football it is massive and that's why everyone should think about doing it.

"It's maybe the kick up the backside that you need and it has certainly done that for me.

"I would certainly recommend it to some of the other young players at the club.

"It wasn't a case of Valdas just sending me out on loan because he didn't want me, it was more so that I could get some experience of regular first-team football.

"He has called me back after six months and I am delighted by that. Hopefully the next six months will be good for me."

While Elliot enjoyed his spell working under Malpas, he is looking forward to playing in front of the Tynecastle crowd again and hopefully helping his side into contention for the Champions League qualifying place.

He added: "I enjoyed working with Valdas before I went to Motherwell and I am sure that I will enjoy working with him again.

"I know that I am good enough to play for Hearts, I've just got to make sure that I prove that over the next few weeks.

"By doing that, hopefully I can try to cement my place in the team and help them to achieve second place.

"I enjoyed it at Motherwell but I'm just glad to be back at Hearts and hopefully I can play more games and score more goals in future."

Elliot just missed out on a goalscoring return to the club on Tuesday, Roddy McKenzie spreading himself to deny the striker in the dying minutes of the 1-0 win over Dunfermline but he certainly looked sharp.

However, he is hoping that the performance he put in at East End Park will be enough to convince Ivanauskas to hand him another starting berth against Stranraer on Scottish Cup duty this weekend.

He said: "I was training with Motherwell on Monday and then back to the club on Tuesday to start against Dunfermline. That was a bit of a surprise, but a nice surprise.

"To be honest it is a relief to come back, this is where I want to play. Edinburgh is my home town and to play for Hearts is a great honour and I'm hoping that I'll get many more chances in the future.

"It's not that I didn't want to play for Motherwell, just that I want to play for Hearts.

"I'm back at the club now and I have to try to prove myself over the coming few weeks.

"I hope that I did enough to earn a place in the starting line-up again, it would have been nice to get a goal, that is what you dream about when you come back.

"That didn't happen so it was a bit disappointing but the main thing was to get the win and we did that."

Although he may not have realised it at the time, Elliot was probably fortunate to leave Tynecastle - albeit temporarily - when he did, avoiding the glare of publicity which surrounded the club in the wake of former captain Steven Pressley's departure.

Despite Pressley's absence, Elliot insists that not much else has changed in the time he has been away: "Not much is different to be honest because Valdas is still the manager and Paul Hartley, Craig Gordon, pictured left, and the rest of the players are still at the club. You've still got a lot of good characters in the changing room and they all spur the team on.

"There have been a few changes but I have met most of the players, there haven't been any new players coming in so I had got to know them before I left for Motherwell.

"It wasn't a case of trying to get to know any of them, more just a case of trying to slot back into the team beside them."

Taken from the Scotsman