Fitbaw Talk: Motherwell exposes Hearts
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00:00Hello and welcome to Fae the Tap of the Toon podcast with me your host Ben Banks and this
00:12week we are joined by Amber Johnson and Gavin McCafferty who both sit on the newly elected
00:17Welsh Society board. Now we've got all that out the way we can look back on Sunday's win
00:24a comfortable and pretty impressive 3-1 win against a team just coming off the back of
00:30Europe again like against Manabu that took nothing away from the performance a very strong
00:34Harsh team which was put out by Stephen Naismith and Lennon Miller two free kicks into the box for
00:40Paul McGinn and Stephen O'Donnell to head in either side of halftime. Guitar Oda pulled one back
00:46for Harsh but and Andreas Salazar inexplicably sort of passes it back towards Tom Sparrow with
00:53a lovely first time finish for a 3-1 victory. Amber you were at the game how did you sort of
01:00see it fair to say that it's probably the the best performance and certainly sort of most
01:05convincing result of the season for the team? Yeah definitely I thought it was a really good
01:10performance from us it's hard to fault anyone on the pitch on Sunday to be honest certainly since
01:18you know the start of the pre-season it's been a wee bit up and down with the the performances but
01:24no Sunday kind of overcame all of that. Yeah I think man of the match on the day Gav was Stephen
01:30O'Donnell he's somebody that I think since he's came to Mullow he came to Mullow obviously off
01:35the back of his spell at Kilmarnock talked then of a move down south and he's whenever something
01:40seems to be going wrong he's usually one of the first names I think some of the maybe the more
01:45cynical Mullow fans will pick out is you know he is doing something wrong but certainly towards
01:51the back end of last season and certainly the way he started this season he's been one of the
01:55probably one of the most impressive performers certainly one of the most consistent performers
01:59to this date. Yeah yeah you can see how happy he was to score as well I know he's scored a
02:06couple now this season but he's certainly enjoyed it I think he's I think you say he's
02:12he became a bit of a scapegoat at times and he was out the team for probably because a manager
02:19decided he wanted to get him out of the team and then it took him a while to get back in because
02:24of circumstances and but he's totally deserving of his place I think he's a crucial part of the
02:31squad as well behind the scenes you know him and Paul McGann obviously the vocal ones around the
02:38place and Steven McDonnell is probably the most vocal but yeah he totally deserved the Man of the
02:45Match award it was it was excellent and I think he's like you say he's playing really well at the
02:51minute and hopefully will continue. He's versatile as well he can drop into the back three I thought
02:57he did really well there last season when he played there so I think the defence was looking
03:02really strong and they've had a few clean sheets already and that was probably the issue last
03:09season conceding goals from set pieces and so actually to turn the tables and be scoring a
03:14couple of goals from set pieces is really encouraging so yeah I thought he was good
03:20and the whole defence was as well. Yeah I was going to touch on that Amber I mean Liam Gordon's come
03:26into the back five, six if you include the goalkeeper over the course of that summer but if
03:32you look at the the back line I think that was the first goal they've conceded and if you include the
03:36hearts game four games I think that's one goal conceded but the back line in the main has been
03:41Aston Oxburgh who was on the bench last season still at the club, Steven McDonnell, Paul McGann,
03:46Dan Casey and Ewan Wilson who's obviously at the club as well. Liam Gordon's only sort of a new one
03:52that's come into the side I mean is it all down to Liam Gordon or what have you seen that sort of
03:59defensively that seems to they seem a lot calmer is probably the thing I've seen from from speaking
04:04to them as well I think even like they just seem a lot more sure about what it is their roles are at
04:10the back and how to defend probably in a bit more calmer manner. Yeah I think Liam Gordon looks to
04:19be a solid signing for us and he could prove to be vital like in this upcoming season but
04:25like you say you know four or five of the players were there last season and they just seem to be
04:30completely different I don't know if it's the mindset that maybe the managers worked on them
04:34over the summer but they just seem to be more of a unit and you know really working together and
04:41yeah one goal out of what four games that's an excellent start to the season considering what we
04:47were conceding last year I think that was one of our major major problems so yeah excited with Liam
04:55Gordon coming in. The captaincy is a weird one at Mull I feel that ever since Keith Lasley retired
05:01like it's almost been like this like Calum McHugh got it looked brilliant obviously outside these
05:07injuries and then he got the captain's armband the performances dipped a wee bit I think even Liam
05:11Kelly a wee bit happened to him as well obviously had the great six months and the performances I
05:17still thought he was a solid keeper from a little bit the performances certainly last season were
05:21criticised pretty heavily but I think given it to Paul McGinn I know there's the usual trope gaffe
05:26that he's the he's seven out of ten and that's it but he's a he's a lot more than that he seems to
05:31he's he is that person who's going to give you a consistent performance but he does seem to lead by
05:36example on the park whereas because he's not the more probably there's more vocal players than him
05:41I would imagine in the changing room certainly Steve Seddon's one off the back of what he was
05:45like on Friday in his press conference for them to watch that and certainly an interesting character
05:51but he's he's almost like the quiet leader and Stephen O'Donnell's a nice tonic next to him in
05:56terms of he's a bit more vocal and that sort of vice captain role. Yeah you've also got Liam Gordon
06:02who was St Johnstone captain for the last couple of seasons as well so I think he's vital as well
06:09the way he talks to players and organises things and like you say Paul McGinn's
06:15an amazing experienced player and he'll talk his way through the game as well but I think off the
06:20park as well he's got probably like you say leading by example but a camera influence and
06:25he's very articulate and I think he's you know the same with all the McGinn brothers they're just
06:33they're just kind of good people to have in about your dressing room and kind of showing the young
06:37guy. Hello and welcome to the Hibbs Hub with our club correspondent John Grehan and me Ben Banks
06:44we'll look back on a 2-2 draw with Dundee Easter Road on Saturday look forward to the action that
06:50is to come on Sunday against Kilmarnock and in the second half of this episode we're going to peer
06:56into what could come in the final 48 hours of the transfer window. John I'll put you on the watch
07:01straight away to start the episode in a few words how would you sum up the mood around Easter Road
07:06right now? Frustrated I think is probably fair to say you can see things that are working things
07:14that are beginning to develop and then they keep getting undone by individual mistakes
07:19that is always taken by coaches as their responsibility as much as players are the
07:26ones who make mistakes coaches have to work with them and figure out why they're doing it why did
07:31you do that as opposed to look you did that wrong there's got to be in the analysis sessions I know
07:37a lot of coaches and probably David Graham pretty sure does it this way be like why did you do that
07:42what is my messaging did I not make this clear that this is what you have to do when you're
07:46struggling for form every game looks tricky there's nothing there's nothing that you go
07:50you feel confident about so it's going to be interesting to see how Hibbs approach it
07:55what his team is might be interesting whether he changes too much and depending on what
08:04happens on Friday night if you bring in a player who's ready to go straight into the team we'll see
08:10that's a nice way of teasing that you know if the listeners were already getting put to sleep
08:15our long-formed introductions that maybe just keeps them on a wee bit longer but yeah I think
08:21it's an interesting game I know the old cliche is again to get into the international break where
08:26when your new signings all of a sudden the mood turns from a bit like not sure about this to you
08:31know what it's actually been a bumpy start but we can see that the road looks a bit smoother
08:36ahead but I mean and you talked on the the team would you expect many changes I was quite surprised
08:42with the way he was speaking after the Celtic Cup game I maybe expected a few more than
08:47eventually was there also was a few wee ones but I was expecting maybe a wee bit more tinkering of
08:52the team against Dundee than there was yeah I think he had to try and stick it out a little
08:58bit with the players that he's got in there what's that American experience you dance with
09:03a girl you brung at some point you've got to stand say this is my team this is what I've got
09:08at the moment anyway this is how I'm gonna play it we've been working right from day one of pre-season
09:14effectively with some of these central defenders in the back four in particular you're not just
09:17going to throw that out the window because it's something that actually I remember speaking to
09:23who be one of the older coaches I might even way by the late great trade brown and we were
09:28we're chatting about coaching we talked about young coaches and he said the first thing they do
09:33says when there's a bit of a crisis they make a change and then they make another change because
09:37that hasn't worked they make another change and before you know it says you're four or five weeks
09:40down the line you've gone completely away from what you believe in as football you're completely
09:45away from what how you want your team to play because you get bounced into making changes
09:49and I think so great being experienced as a coach in the backroom staff will know that
09:57that you know he'll spoken to some incredible mentors that he's had over the years as well
10:02who advise him on when to chop and change things and wouldn't say no this is us this is how we
10:08play this is what we're going to do yeah I would imagine the clamour for Ciarán Bowie's start is
10:13going to grow now even if he isn't fit I would imagine that they're going to at least see him
10:18for 60 minutes or so because that's been a few games now where he's came off the bench
10:22and provided impetus and a bit of a something for fans to get excited about
10:28the problem the problem is it was a hamstring injury he had before so like sports science
10:35people are incredibly incredibly careful with hamstring injuries just in case so you do get
10:42into that risk reward thing do you play him at Carmarnock and he hurts himself and you've missed
10:48him for all of September and part of October do you give him an extra week and just let him play
10:5330 minutes or 35 minutes um it'd be an interesting call um if it had been a knock or a dead leg or
11:01something like that you can play through I would be more inclined to bet on him starting I just
11:07think hamstrings and having spoken to enough sports science people over the year it's almost
11:12like kryptonite to them oh no right okay right rest up get the ice on it do it you know they're
11:18so panicky about it for a good reason because it is one of these injuries not a horrific injury
11:24to suffer but it does bang you're out for six weeks yeah yeah I think I know it it's one of
11:31the I can imagine as a fan you're sitting there and obviously you're not I know is that when I go
11:36to games as a fan I'm not sitting when I see my clubs and you're saying I'm not sitting and
11:40start going but just rest them we should just rest them the hamstring we can't do that I'm
11:45I think well he is coming on and he's and he's ramping
11:49so
12:06and I shouldn't talk too much about Harshal on this podcast I'll keep it quiet but there were
12:10the boos when Dan was subbed off and it was like fans are so especially this time year they're so
12:17eager to see these guys and that I've been getting talked about and you know cropping
12:22their faces on the announcement type stuff on forums and whatnot to see these guys in the flesh
12:28and but again as you say it's that is that risk and reward thing it must must be so difficult for
12:34a manager deal because they want to see these guys in the park I would imagine just as much
12:38yeah and players all want to play as well so you never ask a player
12:42100% gaffer I'm fine that's all he's ever gonna say throw me in from the start
12:47so yeah it'd be interesting that's it that's an interesting choice on what he does
12:51there if he starts with him if he starts with Kurovich who in fairness is still building up
12:57minutes himself and building up fitness and has looked reasonable without being outstanding you
13:03know like he's not an 8 out of 10 or anything at the moment but we'll see how he gets gets going
13:08it might be an ideal game for him as well yeah right we'll move on then to the transfer window
13:15shutting on Friday and we record it as I start this segment it's 15 28 on the 28th of August
13:24just to time stamp that for MD listening to this when umpteen players have moved on etc by this
13:30point it clubs around the league but just generally to kick off with then John how have you viewed and
13:36how have you found dealing with this summer this your first summer window is in the roll here and
13:42how have you how have you found dealing with it fine they've been busy obviously at the start
13:49of the window and they've kept things going I think it's going to be a late Friday night
13:53just as just brace myself for it might be the phone down call here in the what we'll
13:58laughingly call the office at home which is just the spare room I think it's going to be a late one
14:04um just because I mean they're trying to get things done um you've seen by now that
14:12Owen Bevan deal was off which was the Bournemouth central defender who they had really placed a lot
14:19of faith in so had Nick Montgomery in January he's he's just been under a four-year contract
14:25by Bournemouth so he's going to be they clearly believe he's a prospect uh but this thigh injury
14:31not sure if it's horrendous but it's just going to be it's it's long enough that it would it kind
14:35of doesn't make any sense uh pushing through the loan deal um so they're still in the market for
14:40center half um I was joking with you earlier off the call if we played fantasy transfer window if
14:48you were David Gray I think he would want a center half in he would want another striker maybe a fox
14:54in the box type um someone that you can rely on even if it was an older player I'm not going to
14:59say Adam LaFondra because of that type maybe I don't know if it was I don't know he'd probably
15:05want another just another attacking option there and they've got 10 central midfielders at the
15:11moment but I'm not sure they've got a proper proper hole in number six now who does it full
15:18time and does that job so maybe that um probably like to get some players out as well um for obvious
15:26reasons not even just from a board and chief executive point of view but as a manager you
15:31just don't want a squad full of you know four guys five guys who are never going to play it's
15:38really hard to to manage that as a group hello and welcome to the latest episode of Edinburgh
15:44Evening News's Hearts Digest with club correspondent Barry Anderson and me Martin Simpson it's been a
15:50busy week with plenty to stew over in Gorgie after a 1-0 defeat to Victoria Pilsen and a 3-1 loss at
15:55Moverwell sparked plenty of frustration there are some signs of potential in their team absolutely
16:02and the Pilsen performance was pretty decent as an away performance in Europe and pretty disciplined
16:07organized energetic at times um efficient but you know you've lost a tie just purely
16:16because of a mistake in stoppage time you know that's that's really difficult for them to take
16:20and then Sunday that first part simply wasn't up to anywhere near up to half standard and um
16:27there's a lot of work to be done ahead of this second leg
16:31As always you can keep up to date with all the latest Hearts news at our website
16:35a big thank you to all our listeners for the feedback on our last few episodes
16:39be sure to follow us on Apple podcast Spotify and other regular podcast platforms
16:45a five-star review wouldn't go amiss either to help us move up the ranking charts
16:49so just looking at the Moverwell game a hugely hugely disappointing afternoon
16:56the first time since the early 1980s 41 years to be precise since Hearts have
17:02failed to win a game in their opening five league matches but just set pieces I think is the first
17:08thing we need to address we really need to look at that defensively because it's just not good enough
17:15is it Barry? Yeah it's not at the moment you have to say last season Hearts
17:22defending from set pieces was was decent they conceded very few goals
17:26and via that route and this year you look at the Motherwell game as an example there are others
17:31Dundee as well where they didn't defend set pieces particularly well you there's basic errors being
17:39being made small errors but errors that are nonetheless contributing to goals at the end of
17:44the you know look at the first goal Lennon Miller flights a free kick in Paul McGinn makes a run
17:48around the blind side of Gerald Taylor he's not aware of that happening and it's virtually a free
17:53header across Craig Gordon in the bottom corner and the second goal Stephen O'Donnell gets away
18:01from Kai Rolls but you have to you watch it back you see that Andrew Salazar is playing him on side
18:06as Miller floats a free kick in so Salazar like sort of he steps out of line to play him on side
18:13and then comes back and lets O'Donnell away from him it's infuriating if you were a set piece coach
18:18you'd be ripping your hair out it's such a basic a basic defensive error isn't it yeah when you're
18:26playing defense you're told don't break the line at these situations when you're holding a line
18:30against the set play so again he's just settling in you have to take some of that into consideration
18:37but it is a fairly basic point that they should they should be simply in line with the rest of
18:43his defense and they should be they should be in sync I don't know if there's a communication
18:47issue there that he doesn't speak any English I believe or very little so that might be a factor
18:52um but yeah and then the third goal is obviously Salazar yeah just a mishap you know you just want
19:00him to make sure that the back pass goes to Craig Gordon it doesn't fall short Kai Rolls can't get
19:05there and to be fair to Tom Sparrow he's very alert he's in quickly and it's an excellent first
19:10time finish with the outside he's right footing at the top corner so you can't defend like that
19:14in Scotland you certainly can't defend like that in Europe if you hope to progress um so it needs
19:20it needs sorted out for Thursday night absolutely I wonder with Salazar I don't I don't want to pile
19:26in on the young lad because like you say he's new to Scottish football he's only probably just
19:31learning English he's learning about his teammates he's not the first player that ought to have played
19:36a back pass short and then led to goal he certainly won't be the last it is a poor individual error
19:42but you can forgive it because like I say it does happen players are guilty of it and he's certainly
19:47not the first player to misjudge timing at a set piece but it's it is two basic errors and it does
19:55certainly make you wonder if he was maybe who am I to question Stephen Naismith's management
20:01obviously but if he was put into that starting lineup or certainly thrown into the deep end
20:06at Fir Park maybe just a little bit too early before he was ready
20:12well yeah I mean you could argue that obviously that now hindsight I think I mean he turned up
20:18fit so it wasn't like he needed a full pre-season he was ready to go and there had been interest
20:24from bigger European clubs than Hearts over the last year Hearts had looked at him and I think
20:30they'd made inquiries about him and basically didn't think that they'd be able to get him
20:36then he fell out of the picture at Atletico Nacional and became available and they moved
20:40quickly so from that point of view given that there have been some clubs in other bigger
20:46European countries than Scotland that have been after him he's arrived with a bit of a pedigree
20:51but it's a debut that you'll want to forget and it's not one that's going to live long in
20:56his memory I think he's got the quality to overcome it well he absolutely does have the
21:02quality to overcome it it's probably a bigger issue is whether does he have the mindset to
21:05overcome it you know South Americans are generally mentally quite strong so as long as that's the
21:11case then I don't think he should have too much too many issues and a word just about James Penwright
21:17on that note because Salazar and Penwright are obviously vying for the same position at Hearts
21:21and Penwright has been very good he's been very consistent solid and one of the successes you
21:27would have to say so far this season despite the results Hearts have had so Salazar might
21:33have to wait to get himself you know a run of games in the team because there's no reason to
21:37leave Penwright out he was left out on Sunday just to and give him a little bit of respite after
21:41playing every minute of every game up until that point and he had missed the tail end or the last
21:46four months I think three four months of last season after having surgery on his hip flexor at
21:52Livingston so Hearts were keen not to just not to overload him and that's why he didn't play
21:56a fair part but he'll be back in the team Thursday and rightly so yeah I feel like sometimes people
22:02can be a bit too reactionary when a when a new signing doesn't hit the ground running
22:07because there's absolutely no shame in Hearts investing in a quality young player like
22:15that who's got unlimited potential and could go very far in this game he doesn't need to be thrown
22:22straight into the starting lineup and to hit the ground running if Hearts want to go with Penrith
22:28for Penrith for the first half of the season even for the whole season and and just sort of
22:34gradually introduce Salazar and then yeah just maybe because because he is can just just refresh
22:42us on the the details of his his contract at Hearts yeah he's on loan for the season and
22:48there's an option for Hearts to make that a permanent arrangement yeah so I just wanted to
22:53make sure that was that was right there I'm just getting you know there's so much going on in the
22:57transfer window and we're covering multiple clubs so Hearts have the option to make that deal
23:03permanent there I don't think it's going to benefit anyone if they try and force the issue this season
23:11because the fans might not see it on the pitch but the coaching staff might see it in his attitude
23:17and his progression and his willingness to sort of get to know his teammates to learn the language
23:22and just try and understand Scottish football but even if he doesn't have a stellar season
23:28they might still want to make that investment and then next season once he's had that bedding in
23:33he could really be a key player for Hearts I really I don't see any issue with that happening
23:38and then again I talk about people being reactionary
23:41I might be the one being reactionary here because I'm judging on offer