 Preparing for the rigours of playing in the SPL is not that easy. Sometime young players have to be bloodied without the pressure of playing for a top flight team to be toughened up for the big step onto the SPL stage. Like a lot of others clubs, Hearts are setting up some loan deals to allow some of their younger prospects to grow before t next season in order to properly prepare them for the rigours of SPL football. Teenagers like Gordon Smith and Scott Robinson have been advised by experienced coaching staff at Tynecastle to consider spending some time with an SFL side before returning to Tynecastle to continue their development and challenge for a first-team place. Manager Jim Jefferies is a great believer in bring on players at the right pace and believes experiencing top-level football on loan can be invaluable to players' progress. Jefferies said: "A lot of these young lads have been put in a situation because of injuries. They've done well in the first team but they are all ones for the future. The right career path for them will be one of the responsibilities I'll have. One or two are not ready yet. Of the younger players who had to be called upon this year, I'd be doing one or two a favour by letting them go out and get a loan spell with regular football and get them toughened up a wee bit. They are just that wee bit short yet for the Premier League. Garry Kenneth at Dundee United did it, Paul McGowan at Celtic did it by going to Hamilton and is now a regular there having signed a new contract." |