John Souttar: Hearts defender ready for Rangers test after refusing to leave ‘on the cheap’, says Robbie Neilson | Football News
2 min read
Hearts manager Robbie Neilson has no concerns about John Souttar playing against Rangers despite him agreeing a pre-contract with the Ibrox club.
The defender missed Tuesday night’s draw at Hibernian with an ankle injury but is set to return to training and is in line to feature against his future club on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
The Tynecastle club rejected a Deadline Day bid of around £400,000 for the 25-year-old to make the move to Glasgow for the second half of the season, meaning Rangers will need to wait until the summer for the player to join.
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Neilson told Sky Sports News that the Scotland international did not want to move to the Scottish Premiership champions « on the cheap ».
« He was very strong with us as well and didn’t want to go on the cheap and wanted us to get what we deserved, » said Neilson.
« We didn’t get that offer so we made the decision to keep him and he’s more than happy to do that for us.
« He’s a great professional, great kid, and he’s proven that with the injuries he’s come back from – many wouldn’t come back from one and he’s come back from three. I’ve great belief that if we put him in he’ll take it in his stride. »
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Hearts drew 1-1 on their last visit to Ibrox and Neilson believes his players can perform on Sunday and cut the 13-point gap on Rangers, who sit second in the table after their Old Firm defeat to Celtic.
« We’ve got to go with belief we can get points. We got a point the last time – can we take the next step and get three points? » he said.
« It will be very difficult but we have to believe. When you come up from the Championship you’re never really sure where you’re going to be.
« We had a good season last season but coming into the top flight is a different story so we’re pleased with where we are the moment but there’s still a lot of hard work to be done and we want to try and secure that third spot and get as close as we can to the Old Firm. »
