Hearts Keen To Keep Skacel

Hearts Assistant Manager Billy Brown has indicated that the club would like to extend Rudi Skacel’s stay at Tynecastle beyond the end of this season.

Rudi’s second spell as a Hearts player has for the most part been a very enjoyable one for both the fans and the player himself, who definitely appears to love playing for the club. Many doubted his ability to have anything like the positive effect he had on the team during his first spell when George Burley signed him in 2005, but despite not being quite as dynamic as he perhaps once was, I would argue that his presence in this current Hearts side is every bit as important, if not more so, than it was back in Burley’s talented XI.

Skacel has scored nine goals since returning to Hearts, and although it’s true that he drifts in and out of games and at times you struggle to tell whether or not he is on the park, he is the sort of guy who is always worth having around. He is that rare breed of player who can burst into life in a split second, and the fact that he does tend to be quiet for long spells is possibly one of the reasons why he is able to create so much, as very often the opposition around him go to sleep as far as keeping tabs on him is concerned. Then all of a sudden, he wakes up and smashes one in from 30 yards…..or plays a killer pass through for a team-mate. Hearts have rarely had a player who can do that as well as Rudi does.

Aside from his footballing skills, Rudi is also a great guy to have at the club. He is as close to a genuine fans’ favourite as Hearts have had since probably John Robertson – there certainly aren’t many Jambos who don’t like him, even the guys who give him stick for being lazy still seem to do so in a relatively ‘affectionate’ way if that makes sense(!), so it would definitely be a popular move to retain his services for longer if we can.

‘Rudi’s done really well here,’ said Billy Brown.

‘We hope to keep him, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

‘The whole plan isn’t quite together at the moment. We still have a wee while to go and to tell people they are either here or not here.

‘When we haven’t nailed third place, it isn’t the time to do it. We need to wait two or three weeks till we formulate everything.’

As part of that ‘formulation’ (nice choice of word from Billy there!), the club will no doubt be looking to move some players on as well as trying to bring more in. Early reports are indicating that relatively high earners like Ruben Palazuelos and Ismael Bouzid look likely to be on their way out, which to be honest would make sense, especially given the recent signing of Andy Webster and the fact that the club are openly looking for midfield players.

All will be revealed in due course, but it’s good to hear that Hearts are looking to extend Rudi Skacel’s stay for at least another year. It’s been great having him back.