Stuart Findlay knew what to expect when he signed for Hearts under new head coach, Derek McInnes, and, conversely, the new Jambos boss understood exactly what the defender could offer his new-look side.
Now, the 29-year-old defender waits to see if his old boss at Kilmarnock puts faith in him to start against Aberdeen in the Jambos opening fixture in the William Hill Premiership on Monday (kick-off 20.00).
Findlay, of course, is on loan from EFL Championship combine, Oxford United, and the 6ft 3in centre-back, who started his youth career with Celtic, is much travelled.
He joined Greenock Morton on loan in 2014, moved to Dumbarton on loan the following year then switched to Kilmarnock, also on loan.
From there, Findlay was with Newcastle United – he did not make a first team appearance – before moving back to Kilmarnock on loan. He then signed for the Rugby Park side but moved to North America when Philadelphia Union came in for him.
The Carmyle-born player then moved back to Britain to join Oxford in 2022 before moving back to Killie on loan, making 50 appearances, before the Jambos offer came in.
Findlay, who also has one Scotland cap, scoring a goal on his debut, is excited about what lies ahead in the Capital.
The 6ft 3in defender admitted he did not know what he was coming to when he signed for Hearts, but has been pleasantly surprised, and added: “I could not have been welcomed any better. It feels as if I have been here a couple of years.”
Everybody, he said, has bought into what the new manager wants, and, going forward he hopes that continues into the league.
And straight-talking Findlay said that he did not realise the stature of Hearts until he became involved. The demand for success, particularly after last season’s disappointments, finishing out of the top six, is there, but he said: “I am happy to be a part of it.”
Pre-season has gone as well as the coaching staff could have hoped, he commented, even after a number of changes in personnel.
Now, the acid test comes with Premiership kick-off. How the newcomers and the players already at Tynecastle before the summer break gel will be key, but Findlay said: “We have put ourselves in a really good position. We can go into the (Aberdeen) game with confidence.”
Looking back at the season so far, Findlay argued that many fans don’t consider the Premier Cup games as “such a big thing” as they involve, no disrespect, “a lower level of opposition”, but Hearts scored 16 goals and conceded only one and the player said: “There is something about not conceding goals, it gets a habit.
“Against Sunderland, it was only a friendly, but not only did we not concede, but I don’t think Zander (Clark, Hearts goalkeeper) was troubled at any point.”
The back three who played in the first half, and the back four who played in the second, looked really solid, and that, argued the player, is a real positive to take into the Aberdeen clash.
Results, he said, breed confidence and so do performances, you put that together with the defensive stability that Hearts have shown so far, plus their ability at the top end of the pitch, then that also breeds confidence.
Finlay added: “We must make sure we carry that forward into the Aberdeen game. It is a game where we must make sure we are firing on all cylinders.”
The player admitted he had “not excelled” in his recent two big moves, one to America and the other ton Oxford, coming to Hearts allows him to re-set and he added: “It is such a big club, and to have a manager in your corner who has backed you for two years, I think, is a benefit.” Time will tell.
GAME FOR A LAUGH: Stuart Findlay (centre) enjoys a joke in training. Picture Nigel Duncan
