Jorge Grant accepted things would be different at Hearts when he decided to make the move from Peterborough.
His latest employers paid cash to land Grant in the summer and Joe Savage made a midnight dash to Malaga airport to pick the new signing up as he jetted in to join the Jambos on their pre-season training camp at La Cala. Since then, Grant hasn't exactly been a first pick and has found himself in and out of the team.
A red card at a key juncture didn’t help. Robbie Neilson's team trailed FC Zurich 2-1 in the Europa League playoff round, but they swarmed the Swiss at Tynecastle and should have at least been level when Grant hit the deck in the box shortly after half-time. He was booked for diving, which meant an early bath given his earlier caution. That killed the hosts’ hopes of turning the tie around and they eventually slumped to a 1-0 defeat in Gorgie, which meant it was the Europa Conference League group stages for the capital club.
Another dismissal on Premiership duty against Motherwell wasn’t so costly as Hearts ground out a 3-2 win with ten-men. Those didn’t help his cause, but Grant knew from the outset that this wold be a difficult team to get into - more so than his previous clubs. “I knew this move would be different from what I’ve done before and I’m totally 100 per cent focused on getting in the team here,” he told the Edinburgh Evening News. “It hasn’t crossed my mind to just jump ship after it’s been a tough start. I’m not that kind of person. I will do my best to get in there, it’s 100 per cent Hearts, that’s all I’m focused on.
“I’ve really loved it here. One big thing for me has been the boys in the changing room. We have a really good group. The league is actually a really good league and I think English people look down on it a bit. There are massive games here.”
Grant has been one of the main men in other squads, but he had to work his way up to senior status. The same task is in front of him at Tynecastle. He explained: “That’s what I’ve been at previous clubs but it’s not always like that in football. You need to work to get to that point. Even in my previous teams, I didn’t just go straight in as the main man. I worked to get there. I’m still going to do that here. I’ll work as hard as possible to be that person.
“I want to get in the team. I feel I’ve got a lot to bring and I feel I can help the team in a positive way. If I can get an opportunity and a run of games, that would be perfect. I’m an attack-minded midfielder. I can do the other side of the game, but one of my strengths is going forward, creating and scoring goals. I will always look to affect the game whether I start or only come on for ten minutes.
“The boys haven’t done badly apart from the last result at Motherwell. Other than that, we’ve been on a good run of form. I’ve just got to do well when I get on the pitch to force my way in. The way to do that is to get more goals and assists. That’s how you stay in the team.”
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