Marcel Langer opens up on long-term Hearts future and first impressions of Jambos in exclusive first interview

Marcel Langer intends to hold talks with Hearts in May about extending his stay in Edinburgh. The nature of those discussions might well depend on which league the club inhabit next season. The German midfielder, though, pledged to do everything to avoid relegation from the Scottish Premiership.

He was the last of four January signings at Tynecastle Park, agreeing a four-month contract after leaving Schalke 04. The short-term deal provides a reunion with his old Hannover 96 youth coach, Daniel Stendel, time to suss out Hearts and Scottish football, plus the chance to establish a career at senior level.

With a good command of English, Langer gave his first media interview in Scotland to the Edinburgh Evening News. He is 22 and is excited about performing at first-team level having played with Hannover and Schalke's reserve sides.

He has made two appearances for Hearts to date - last week's league defeat by Kilmarnock and Saturday's Scottish Cup fifth-round win at Falkirk. Some arduous work lies ahead to keep his new club in the top flight, and Langer's future may hinge on a successful outcome.

"I want to help the team to stay in the league. That is the first point. Then we can see how it will go in the summer," said Langer. "We will talk in the summer after the league and then we can see what happens. I will give my best and then we will see in the summer.

"Normally I am an aggressive player, always wanting to attack and go forward. I think I have a good mentality. I hope it matches well with the Hearts fans and the coach's style of play. This is what the fans can expect from me. I will always be there giving my best.

"I often trained with the first team at Schalke. I was in the squad for a German Cup first round game this season. When I was playing in the second team, sometimes I trained with the first team. Here, my first time in a senior squad, it's a big chance for me."

He will naturally need time to fully adjust to Scottish football's idiosyncrasies. A 3-2 loss against Kilmarnock at Tynecastle was hardly the ideal start. Saturday's cup tie offered more encouragement ahead of Wednesday's league trip to Celtic, with Sean Clare's penalty securing Hearts' progress.

"Falkirk was a tough game for us. I know from Germany that it's not easy for a Premiership team against a third-league team," said Langer. "For them it's a big chance so they put everything into the game, but we knew that.

"The first half was not so good from us but, in the second half, we came good with the penalty. Then we had better possession and better control of the game. There were some dangerous situations but overall the second half was better. I am happy we won.

"It is very different here in Scotland. There is a great atmosphere here. With the supporters, it's clearly something else to Germany. Tynecastle was really good last week but the result was not so good. On Saturday, we had so much support from our away fans."

Scotland's reputation on the continent is of an unforgiving league environment where physicality takes over. That is not entirely true for those well-versed in the quality within the divisions, but it is undeniably a part of football culture in this country.

"I heard about it and now I have experienced it. The game here is really physical - kicking, kicking, kicking. But I like it," said Langer. "The first two games were difficult but, more and more, I am becoming familiar with it. Saturday was another step, now we go to Celtic."

Hearts are given little chance of a result as the league's bottom club visiting the leaders. Langer does not believe anything is a fait accompli. "It's a great game, a great chance. Nobody on the outside thinks we can take something there, but we see an opportunity. We hope we can take some points there.

"I have watched Celtic and Rangers matches before. They are the biggest two clubs here, and then it is Hearts. Celtic and Rangers are in the Champions League and Europa League so it's a great game to go to Celtic Park."

It remains to be seen just how attacking Hearts are in Glasgow. Stendel has deployed his players with instructions to go for every opponent they have encountered so far. He may choose to be slightly more conservative at Parkhead.

One of the attractions luring Langer to Hearts was the manager's mindset. "It was a big deal for me because we worked together at under-19 level in Germany, with Hannover 96. It was a successful two years," recalled the player.

"We won the German Cup together and, in the youth Bundesliga, we were second place with a good style of play. I like his style - this aggressive, forward, attacking way. This is the reason I came here."