Barrie McKay has openly admitted his performances for Hearts this season have been 'hit and miss' as he bids to kick on and continue working hard.
Robbie Neilson's men have been stretched to the limit in terms of the squad due to a number of key injuries. The likes of Craig Halkett, Kye Rowles and Liam Boyce have been long-term absentees while McKay and Halliday have been carrying knocks for a number of weeks but continue to put themselves forward for the capital club - a move heavily praised by the Tynecastle boss after victory over Ross County last time out.
The Jambos have been juggling Europa Conference League football with domestic matters and they round off their campaign on the European stage on Thursday in Istanbul before facing three more Premiership fixtures before the World Cup shutdown. It is a break Neilson and his players desperately need to rest up and get over injuries and niggles for the second part of the season. Hearts will jet out to Spain during the break in a bid to get up to standard and make sure they are in contention for third spot once again.
READ MORE: Hearts set for Spain training camp as Robbie Neilson confirms hopes to play friendly
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Speaking to Edinburgh Evening News, the Hearts star said of his season to date: “It's probably been a bit of hit and miss. I've had good games and bad games but you need to keep going and trust what we're doing.
"It's not as easy as: 'You get the ball and just do this or do that.' We have really good players in the team. As long as we are winning, that's all that matters.
“For me, it's all about keeping building and trusting the process. When I came in last season, I was probably quite a slow starter. That's maybe what people are expecting differently from me this year because I've had a full pre-season.
"My real stats didn't really kick off until after the winter break. I'm still creating chances and getting myself into positions. Where I am at the moment, they are maybe not falling in the right place.”
McKay hopes he will be visiting Turkey twice this month with Scotland set for an international friendly in a couple of weeks time.
He was a late call-up alongside club team-mate Stephen Kingsley for Scotland's Nations League draw with Ukraine that secured promotion to League A, a Euro play-off and a second seed in the qualifying draw.
The Hearts star admits it would be 'great' to get the call, but says he will keep working hard and ensure he is in once again if his misses out this time around.
He continued: “Yeah, it's outwith my control. It's not me who picks the squads. That's up to Steve Clarke. If he picks me, then great. If not, I'll just keep working hard to get myself back in.
"He could be looking to try something different, or he could keep the same squad and try to build towards what he wants to do. That's outwith my control, though. It's up to him.
“I never really expected it this time. My last call up was six years ago so it's not like I had always been in squads. It had obviously been a long time. To get that call-up was really good on a personal level. You get that confidence from the recognition from the national manager.
"It shows recognition of what you're doing over the past few months. I've always said since I came up here that I'll never get picked if I'm not doing it for Hearts. It's all about Hearts and then take it from there."
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