Robbie Neilson expects to have Hearts’ John Souttar available for Hibs clash

Posted Sunday, January 30, 2022 by PA

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson expects to have John Souttar available for Tuesday’s Edinburgh derby after the Rangers target went off injured in a 2-0 win over Motherwell.

Souttar was hurt in a collision with Callum Slattery and went off at half-time for new signing Toby Sibbick but the knock was not serious.

Hearts have rejected one bid for the Scotland international from Rangers, who are keen to sign the defender before a pre-contract deal kicks in at the end of the season.

But Neilson confirmed after the game that another centre-back, Craig Halkett, faces four to six weeks out with his hamstring injury.

Neilson hopes his transfer business is done for the window and added: “There’s been nothing new with John. Although I saw they (Rangers) lost three goals so I might get a phone call.

“But at this moment in time there’s been nothing.

“He’ll be back in on Sunday and I expect he’ll be available for Tuesday, if he’s still here.

“I was planning on giving Sibbick some game time for 20-30 minutes, so he got a wee bit more.

“Sibbick did well. He looked good. His fitness levels are still to improve, he hasn’t played since the middle of November but he has the physicality we need.”

Another recent signing, Ellis Simms, grabbed a goal from close range just before the hour mark after Andy Halliday opened the scoring eight minutes before half-time.

Hearts capitalised for the opener after Sean Goss lost the ball in his own box three minutes after replacing the injured Barry Maguire, and on-loan Celtic midfielder Liam Shaw also lost possession in the build-up to both goals.

Motherwell had chances, notably in the first half, with Kevin Van Veen unable to convert their best opportunities, and Neilson was not over-enamoured with his team’s display.

“I’m delighted with the three points but disappointed with the performance,” he said. “I thought we’ve played a lot better than that this season. Especially at home, we should be performing better.

“We didn’t control the game that well. Credit to Motherwell, they make it like that. They get bodies around the ball, they play direct knockdowns. But we need to show a bit more composure.”

Motherwell boss Graham Alexander thought his team passed and pressed well and contributed to their own downfall.

“The first goal is against the run of play, but we had a hand in it,” he said. “I thought we should have dealt with it better – and we were severely punished.

“But we had a couple of great opportunities before half-time to get the equaliser, which would have been our just rewards, but we couldn’t find that finishing touch.

“I thought the second goal was similar: we give it away when we should have made a better decision and we’ve been punished for it again.”

Alexander confirmed reports that injured defender Ricki Lamie had signed a pre-contract with Dundee, but he is not in mind to sell the centre-back before midnight on Monday.

“I think that might have happened on Friday night, I spoke to Ricki on Friday afternoon,” he said.

“But I still see Ricki as an important player for us for the rest of the season.”