Robbie Neilson last night confirmed that John Souttar will stay in the Hearts team despite signing a pre-contract agreement with Rangers - and urged disgruntled Jambos fans to help the side by NOT giving the centre back stick.
The Tynecastle outfit take on St Johnstone tonight with much of the attention on Souttar but Neilson is confident he will handle it.
The Hearts boss said: “John will be part of the squad going forward. Nothing has changed in that. It’s important we focus on the club and driving forward.
“No player will ever be bigger than the club. People will come and go, it’s about the team performing and picking up three points to progress.
“John has signed a pre-contract elsewhere but at this moment he is a Hearts player. We have to utilise him as much as we can.
“John is an experienced international player. I don’t expect him to make any mistakes. He’s gone through this season without making any.
“I think he will be strong enough mentally to get through it. I totally understand everyone’s frustrations with it but it’s about winning games.
“I can understand the (fans’) disappointment. We have a disappointment in here as well. As a fanbase and a club, we have to make sure we look at the bigger picture and the most important thing for us is three points against St Johnstone.
“We want to drive the club forward, continue the good form we’ve had, the feel good factor that has made Tynecastle a fortress, and hopefully the fans will understand that.”
Neilson shot down suggestions that Souttar had signed a deal behind the club’s back, insisting that his relationship with the player is strong - and he confirmed that Rangers have not, so far, bid to take him to Ibrox this month.
He added: “We knew he had knocked us back and was going to speak to clubs. He has kept us in the loop all the way through. There is a disappointment that he didn’t decide to stay with us but it’s part and parcel of football.
“I’ve had loads of chats with John so I knew what was happening. Then we got contacted to say it was happening and we have to deal with it.
“John signed a pre-contract but there has been no offer for him, so there isn’t a decision to be made at this moment. If and when an offer comes in, then there’s a decision to make. At this point, John has signed a pre-contract and will stay here till the summer. He will be utilised as best we can to make sure we perform as best we can and get into Europe.”
Captain Craig Gordon insisted Souttar has retained the confidence of the entire Hearts squad.
He said: “I think it is a four-year contract he’s signed which is big for him.
“I’m sure Rangers will pay him a lot more than Hearts could do and that is just the reality of the situation.
“Hearts are trying to get to the next level and maybe one day it might be different and we can do that to other teams and take their players.
“This will sting a bit for the fans as he is still staying in Scotland. But, these things in football can happen.
“Nobody her has any problems. Not a single teammate will expect anything less than 100 per cent from John because we see it every single day and we have done for the last number of years.”
