JAMIE MACDONALD today insisted it's vital for a club of Hearts' standing to have three goalkeepers in their ranks – he just wishes he had been given the chance to prove that he deserves the gloves.
The young goalkeeper, who spent last season on loan at First Division Queen of the South, was pitched into first-team action against Rangers at Ibrox last month and gave a good account of himself, despite the 2-0 defeat.
However, he was dropped to
the bench the following week in favour of new signing Marian Kello from Kaunas for the game against St Mirren and missed out on the squad entirely last weekend when the Jambos travelled to Hamilton on league business, Janos Balogh taking his place on the bench.
MacDonald has a maturity beyond his years and recognises the importance of having quality stoppers as back-up at this level, stressing that he always expected Csaba Laszlo to bring in new faces.
However, having played in front of 50,000 at Ibrox and gained vital experience from being farmed out with Queens, he also believes he has improved his game and confidence dramatically and deserved a fair crack at the whip. He feels that he merited at least another 90 minutes between the sticks and conceded that he has been left disappointed by the fact that he wasn't given a run in the side to allow him to prove his worth.
MacDonald said: "Obviously I always knew that he would bring other goalkeepers in. The manager is new to the job and he wants to look at everyone individually and I have still got hopes of playing for Hearts.
"I was disappointed to miss out the way that I did though because I played against Rangers and I felt that I did well enough to get a bit of a run in the team.
"But it wasn't to be and it is something that I need to deal with, these things happen in football."
However, having gone from the Tynecastle reserves to playing 40 games in the highly competitive First Division and Scottish Cup, including the showpiece final against Rangers, MacDonald knows he cannot allow himself to stagnate, or indeed, go backwards.
He continued: "I am still relatively young but I do feel now that I need to start playing first-team football, especially after spending the last year and a half out on loan.
"I was playing every week but now I have played the first two reserve games of this season and while they are games of football it is totally different. You really need to be involved in games where there is pressure on you, points at stake or a relegation or promotion battle to be played for."
And the 21-year-old goalie admitted that he may have to look elsewhere if he is to be considered first-choice keeper: "I don't think that playing in the reserves is really going to improve me any more, I think I need to be out playing to develop my game again.
"I don't want to lose the confidence and the experience that I have gained and I don't want to go stagnant by continuing to play in the reserves.
"The last year and a half has been unbelievable for me. I have become a better goalkeeper than I was when I was just travelling with the team as a third choice. Playing regularly gives you confidence.
"Obviously you don't get much better experience than playing in a Scottish Cup final. My last two games have been the Scottish Cup final and a league game against Rangers at Ibrox. I feel I can cope with that now whereas before it might have been a little bit daunting for me because I would maybe going into the game thinking about the fact that you're going to be running out in front of 50,000 people and you're a bit nervous about it.
"But once you have experienced that once or twice it is just another game of football really at the end of the day. I think that sometimes at the club I am still viewed as being a bit inexperienced but I would say now that I am experienced. Okay, I have not been playing week-in, week-out in the SPL but I feel that I have played regularly enough and in big games to say that I have done enough to be given a go. Obviously I would like to have the chance to come through and make my mark at Hearts, I would be delighted if that turned out to be the case.
"But at the same time there is only so long that you can wait for your chance to come along and it might be that I will have to look elsewhere to get first-team football in the future."
However, MacDonald stressed that his preferred option would still be to remain at Tynecastle and insisted that he is determined to do everything that he can to convince manager Laszlo that he can provide a safe pair of hands: "For now I am happy to give it a go at Hearts, but I am no longer a 19-year-old who is happy to sit and be a third choice.
"I am really looking to play first-team football and if it doesn't happen for me in the future then I will have to think about leaving."
The Tynecastle keeper was in action for Scotland under-21s last Thursday as they took on Slovenia at the Falkirk Stadium in a vital UEFA European Championships qualifier and came out 3-1 winners, with two goals from Hibs' Steven Fletcher sandwiched between one from Gary Kenneth.
MacDonald said: "To get the step up to the full squad is very difficult because for me, Scotland have got two of the best goalkeepers in Britain and maybe Europe in their ranks already (Craig Gordon and Allan McGregor].
"It is hard but at least it gives you something to aim for. If you can get anywhere near those two then you know that you are doing well because the standard is so high.
"No-one has really cemented the third place in the squad, so there is always the chance to go for that in the future because it has chopped and changed a little bit lately.
"But to do that I've got to be playing first-team football and that is my priority because if I don't do that then I won't have a chance of being picked."
The full article contains 1105 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
