BOOING Calum Elliot is a habit that dies hard with some Hearts supporters. Although Monday evening's friendly against Glentoran was the team's first outing of pre-season, a portion of visiting fans chose to jeer the striker's efforts. The criticism didn't escape his ears and leaves him wondering how exactly to win people over.
Previous statements from Elliot alluded to the possibility of leaving Hearts, where his current contract runs until 2010. He wants first-choice status – in itself a challenge for anyone at Tynecastle. Whilst a loan move remains possible, he isn't lo
oking to engineer a departure and is open to all options, his preference being to stay and establish himself under new manager Csaba Laszlo.
Tonight brings another opportunity to impress the Hungarian against Dunfermline at East End Park. A summit on Elliot's future is expected sooner rather than later and the young forward is not short on loan offers. Thing is, he still has aspirations of reaching the top and knows Hearts offer a better avenue than most clubs to facilitate this.
The dissenting voices of supporters irk the 21-year-old. Indeed it's almost possible to watch his confidence evaporate on the field when the abuse begins. It wasn't expected in Belfast on such a low-key occasion and Elliot suspects people now believe he simply wants out of Tynecastle. Ahead of the visit to Dunfermline, he sought to right a few misconceptions.
"You heard sections of the support on Monday night. I'm not saying all of them because some fans were good with me. Some might think I don't want to be at the club but I think they've got the wrong end of the stick," he explained. "Perhaps what I've said recently makes it look like I don't want to be here, but I do. I just want to play football and I'm sure everyone understands that. If you're not playing, you aren't happy. I'm a young boy, I want to play football and be successful. Staying with Hearts would be great, I just have to see what happens."
Everything would appear to hinge, then, on a sit-down with Laszlo. The new manager is going through an evaluation process at present to assess those at his disposal. His opinions on Elliot will interest many of the Hearts public who were often baffled by Stephen Frail's faith in the player.
"There are a few teams interested but, to be honest, it's not up to me to decide. It's up to the manager. I'll need to speak to him," continued Elliot. "We haven't really had time for a chat yet because we were in Belfast right after he started. Once some of the games are over I'll maybe get a chance to sit down with him and talk about what will be happening.
"I'll say I just want to play football and get back to playing the way I know I can. In flashes I've shown what I can do but not over a sustained period. I'm not sure why, whether I've not been fit enough or whatever.
"Hopefully now I can get my best form back. I'll just have to work as hard as I can during the season, wherever I end up playing. I'm waiting on word from the club to find out what's going to happen. If I'm leaving I want to get it sorted as soon as possible, but if I stay it would be great. My family and girlfriend are all in Edinburgh so I'd have no worries about staying.
"I'll make my point, the manager will make his and we'll both accept it. I always had faith in my ability no matter who was at the club. I know that if I work hard enough and get back to my best I'll be in with a good shout of playing. Certain things have happened which I can't really go into. You just have to forget about it and move on."
Hearts' willingness to offload Christian Nade, one of Elliot's striking rivals, could spur the local boy on. Without the Frenchman Elliot would rank as the club's most experienced forward ahead of Jamie Mole and teenager Gary Glen, although reinforcements in that department are likely before the new campaign begins.
Early indications from Laszlo are that he will strive to right a few of last season's wrongs, which could prove beneficial if Elliot can endear himself to the amiable Hungarian. He replaced Glen as a substitute in Belfast and gave a workmanlike display, although the lone striker's role is perhaps not one best suited to him.
"The first game of pre-season is always difficult. It's really just a matter of getting some game time and then building on that tonight against Dunfermline," he said. "We can hopefully start to try and implement the manager's plans.
"Shaggy was great last year for me personally because he kept me in the team. Csaba is really enthusiastic, he has a real work ethic and we can see he's going to work us hard. He wants to achieve something and lift us as high as possible this year. Finishing eighth last season isn't good enough for Hearts and maybe some of our standards slipped towards the end of the season. Hopefully, with a good pre-season, we can begin the new campaign well and the whole place will pick up."
Elliot detailed some of the new measures installed by Laszlo since his appointment last Friday: "If we've got schedules and timescales then they have to be met. If not, we'll all be punished. Everyone has done well so far so we have been listening. We have to stay longer at Riccarton because he wants us to work an eight-hour day. I'd imagine over the next few weeks more new things will come into place. He'll continue to put forward his ideas and we'll have to adhere to them."
Obeying instructions from your boss is a fundamental for succeeding in the workplace. Elliot has the added onus of trying to convince supporters of his worth. That remains key to his long-term prospects at Tynecastle.
The full article contains 1031 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
