Hearts are supposed to be having a nightmare.
That would all seem straightforward were it not for the fact there are one or two around Tynecastle apparently still to notice, with Sam Nicholson wandering breezily around the old ground as though unaware a storm of discontent is passing overhead. "Running out at Tynecastle is a dream come true," said the teenager.
It is possible that the midfielder will be redirected into a cupboard should the Scottish Professional Football League send somebody round to check up on the well-being of Hearts' young players. The club are again attempting to have a transfer embargo lifted by the league's governing body - citing the strenuous demands it is placing on a young and inexperienced squad - and Nicholson's enthusiasm at turning out for the first team does not follow the party line.
The 18-year-old is instead inclined to make the most of an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his favourite side. Nicholson was once a season-ticker holder at Tynecastle and watched in awe as the likes of Rudi Skacel, Takis Fyssas and Edgaras Jankauskas led the club to two Scottish Cup successes in six years. The midfielder cannot hope of emulating such a feat quite yet but he is excited at the prospect of writing his own Hearts history this season.
"All the players want to do is play," said Nicholson, who made his first-team debut against Inverness Caledonian Thistle last month. "Whether they need a rest or not, a lot of the players don't want to rest. All they want to do is play anyway. The more times we feature for the first team, the more used to it we will get. In a few years we will be experienced at this level. I think it can be better to be chucked in at this age."
A match with Motherwell today is not likely to be a chance to resurrect hopes of salvaging a survival bid in the SPFL Premiership this season, with Hearts still 19 points adrift of Ross County at the bottom of the league table. Nicholson does not feel likel moaning about the situation much either, though.
"I used to have a season ticket and went to all the games, so running out at Tynecastle is a dream come true," said Nicholson. "My family have come to all my games and I get a lot of support from the Hearts fans. The guys I used to go to the games with are in among the fans who sing now . . . the mad ones.
"Being a fan, when you're on the pitch you know what it means to all the fans watching you, so it makes you work that wee bit harder. I'm not sure I would have got my chance if we hadn't been in this situation, but I am grateful for the opportunity."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article