Daniel Stendel buoyed by Conor Washington’s return to form and fitness at Hearts

Daniel Stendel believes Conor Washington will add quality to Hearts’ attack in the closing months of the season after finally appearing to have banished the effects of the first long-term injury of his career.

The Northern Irishman spent more than three months on the sidelines after tearing his hamstring in the 3-2 home defeat against Motherwell back in September.

Since returning to action as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen at the end of December, Washington has made 11 appearances in total - five as a starter.

It is only in the last two games against Rangers and Hibs, however, that the highly-regarded 27-year-old has looked like he is getting back to prime condition and optimum sharpness. The Northern Ireland internationalist delivered an immense centre-forward display in Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Easter Road, a match in which he scored his first goal in more than seven months.

Stendel is relishing the prospect of having a fully-fit and resurgent Washington to spearhead his side’s battle against relegation, which they resume at home to Motherwell today.

“It’s good for Conor, it has not been an easy time for him, being out with injury and then coming back and not everything working out for him straight away,” explained the manager. “It was his first long injury so it was a new experience for him. He worked very well against Rangers and on Tuesday as well.

“Maybe he didn’t have many chances but I said to him his runs and his work are so important for other players, he created space and created chances for others. And that he did all that and in the end he got a goal is good for him and his confidence and also good for the team.”

As he tries to lift Hearts off the bottom of the table over the course of the closing ten games, Stendel has the perceived advantage of three current international strikers at his disposal. Steven Naismith, Washington and Liam Boyce are all likely to be called by Scotland and Northern Ireland for Euro 2020 play-offs later this month, underlining the pedigree of the Hearts squad in relation to their wretched league position.

Stendel is not banking on his highly-regarded attackers guaranteeing survival due to the fact Hearts have struggled for much of the season with a squad widely deemed to be superior on paper to many sides who sit above them in the table. However, the manager is hopeful that he has now discovered a blend of youth, experience and hunger that can bear fruit in the coming weeks and months.

“That experience in attack could set us apart (from rivals), but we started the season with so much more experienced players, so why have we stayed where we are?” Stendel said. “It’s good we have some players who know the situation but, yeah, you can see Lewis Moore played well in the last couple of games. Some of the young players have shown they are ready to win this fight and I think we have a good mix at the moment on the pitch with different experience, abilities and ambitions. I think this is a good sign for me.

“I can say yes it’s so much better if we have that experience in our attack, but we need to show that experience and quality.”

Stendel believes “patience” will be key in Hearts’ survival bid. The Tynecastle side scored all three of their goals against Hibs in the second half, and with some nervy games on the horizon, the manager explained that it is imperative that his team don’t panic if they don’t get themselves ahead early in matches.

Asked what pleased him most about the stunning midweek victory at Easter Road, he said: “That we didn’t lose patience. I know we need to win games but we don’t need to win them in the first 10 minutes. The first half was equal, they had two good situations and so did we. But I was confident we would score a goal and we were defending well. Then after we went 1-0 it was the same but you get more confident and you could see we created more really good situations. This phase decided the game for us.

“Also, it was bad that we conceded the goal but before that situation you could see every player on the pitch fighting to keep a clean sheet. It didn’t matter that we were 3-0 in front, we tried to defend until the last minute. And this is a good sign also. It shows me they are improving.”

The shine was slightly taken off Hearts’ victory on Tuesday by the fact relegation rivals Hamilton Accies pulled off a surprise win away to Rangers the following night to send them back to the bottom of the league. Stendel insists his team can’t rely on favours from others and must focus fully on getting themselves out of their grim situation by winning more regularly than the rest. “We can’t look at the other teams, we only have to look after ourselves,” said the manager. “The good thing is we have a chance to play against all the teams around us again. I think we need to show our best performances in those games. Then we can worry about the other teams.”