Mole eager to make the grade with Hearts

JAMIE MOLE probably didn't know it but, in posing for a photograph yesterday to promote Hearts' annual Family Race Day at Musselburgh, he came in contact with a piece of equipment, namely a traditional harness racing trap, known as a Sulky.

Fortunately for Mole, that doesn't appear to be a description anyone could ever level at him, the 21-year-old having risen above a number of setbacks during his career that would have caused some in his trade to go off in a huff.

Loan spells at Livingston, Queen of the South and Dunfermline, after all, were a far cry from the Champions League football he tasted early in his spell as a first-team player at Tynecastle, the Newcastle-born striker having played in a qualifier against AEK Athens.

But, with two years on his contract with the Gorgie club still to run, Mole is determined to catch Csaba Laszlo's eye when Hearts return for pre-season training next week, hoping he can save his boss some money at a time when he is reported to be looking to beef up his attacking options for the new season.

"You come back after a close season looking for a fresh start," said Mole, who made his debut for the Gorgie club in a League Cup tie against Livingston in the 2005-06 season before scoring his first goal in a Hearts jersey on his SPL debut, a 4-1 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Tynecastle.

"You look to impress the manager, so I'll be getting myself fit, hopefully get a chance and, if I do, take that chance."

According to Mole, who has made a total of 29 appearances for Hearts, scoring four times, he finds it difficult to put a finger on why his career has seen more than one head coach at Tynecastle decide to ship him out on loan.

"I don't really know what's happened (with me)," he commented. "At the time I played in the Champions League qualifier, I didn't think too much about it, to be honest – it just happened.

"Nowadays I'm more aware of stuff going on and maybe I've just got to try and forget about that."

He added: "When I had the spells at Livingston and Queen of the South, I was still quite young and didn't appreciate what you had to do. But, at Dunfermline, I really enjoyed my time.

"They were a good bunch of lads (at East End Park) and, while it took me a few weeks to get my first game, I got into the side, playing against Aberdeen a couple of times in the Scottish Cup, the run in which was a good experience. Now I've got to try and push on."

Mole looked set to be in Laszlo's plans at the start of last season following the Hungarian's arrival in the summer and admitted the decision to let him join the Pars on loan – he moved there in January – had come out of he blue.

"I'm not sure what went wrong," he said, "though I only scored the one goal and, as a striker, you have to be scoring. At that time, I also had Christian Nade and Gary Glen pushing hard for a place in the team.

"It was a bit of a surprise when I learned that I was going out on loan again. My agent phoned me one day and told me I was not going to be part of the plans at Hearts. I had to take everything into consideration and went with it."

Mole's team-mate, Calum Elliot, certainly went with it when he moved to Livingston on loan last season, the striker using his spell with the West Lothian club to earn his place back in the Hearts first team in the final few weeks of the campaign.

Now Mole will be looking to re-ignite his Hearts career in much the same way, admitting he'd love to take his game to the same level that has earned another of the young players at the club, Andrew Driver, international recognition with England at the European Under-21 Championship.

"Calum went to Livingston, played something like 15 games and scored 12 or 13 goals. As a striker, you can't ask for more than that," noted Mole. "He's returned to Hearts and won the crowd back over – getting them on his side again by scoring some goals.

"He's been given his chance and taken it. Now I've got to try and do the same as I think it is make or break for me this season. I've been speaking to my dad and he says that's the case. I've been trying to keep fit over the summer and, hopefully, I'll go back and get my chance. I'll maybe have a chat to the manager and coaches and see if I can change my game, get extra coaching that sort of thing.

"The club did well last season but none of the strikers have been scoring ten or 15 goals a season and I think the manager will want to bring in one or two new players. Hopefully he doesn't and I'll get my chance. I always seem to do well when I'm fit but it's only when I start to come off the bench and only get five or ten minutes that my fitness goes down. I've got to really knuckle down in pre-season and hopefully get my chance. Andy (Driver) has got a lot more experience and played more games than me. But look at him just now – he's doing really well."

While there will be some notable absentees when Hearts start their build-up to the new campaign, Mole is confident that anyone brought in by Laszlo will be up to the task of filling the boots of the now departed Christos Karipidis, Bruno Aguiar and Robbie Neilson.

"Bruno, Christos and Robbie are all good players but hopefully the players the managers bring in will be just as good," he said. "We have already signed Ian Black, who's a good player, and the manager will be looking to bring in another one or two, I'm sure."

The Hearts Family Race Day takes place on July 18-19, the themed event having attracted 15,000 supporters in the last three years. This year it will dovetail with one of the richest harness race meetings ever held in the UK.

"We are delighted to be working in partnership with Musselburgh Racecourse and this will be another great day for families, corporate partners and sponsors," said Hearts commercial manager, Ross Easton. "We've shaken things up this year in that we're getting involved in harness racing for the first time It is an exciting form of the sport and Musselburgh is a key venue in the UK harness racing calendar."

Sarah Montgomery, Musselburgh Racecourse commercial manager, added: "This is a double helping of mid-summer sport and should appeal to both football and racing fans alike.

"We are always happy to welcome the Hearts support to Musselburgh and this year they will also be treated to the best harness racing anywhere in the UK. It is a child-friendly event with lots of free attractions for families of all ages and we are sure the new format will be a great success."