Robbie Neilson has delivered his Hearts debut verdict on new recruits Orestis Kiomourtzoglou and Robert Snodgrass.
The Jambos duo both make their first appearances for their new club in the 3-0 win over Motherwell at Fir Park to cap off the perfect week for the capital side. The triumph pushed the Gorgie side into third spot behind Celtic and Rangers going into the international break following a stunning Europa Conference League away day as they got off the mark in the section three days previous at group fourth seeds RFS.
Kiomourtzoglou - a £350,000 signing from Dutch side Heracles Almelo - made his long-awaited bow after eventually getting the green light over his work visa. Neilson put the midfielder in from the start and was delighted with his performance despite conerns about throwing him straight into the mix in an away game.
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Experienced former Scotland international Snodgrass - who has spent the majority of his career south of the border with the likes of West Ham, West Brom and Norwich City - was introduced as a second half sub with his new boss saying it is just a case of getting minutes into the legs and his match fitness up, hailing him a 'top player'.
Neilson said: “It was great to get Orestis on. I had a concern about throwing him straight in away from home, would he be ready for 200 miles an hour Scottish football.
“Sometimes when you come from the continent it is a bit slower, especially coming from Holland, but I though he handled it well. He had a bit of support with Halliday at the start and Devlin in there.”
On Snodgrass, he added: “Snoddy is a top player. It’s just a case of trying to get him fit now. I thought for the 25 to 30 minutes he was on the pitch he showed his quality and got better as the game went on.”
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