Stephen Kingsley insists nobody at Hearts was surprised by Morocco star Sofyan Amrabat tearing up the World Cup - after he ran the show twice against the Jambos in Europe.
The Fiorentina midfielder is a target for clubs across Europe with Tottenham and Liverpool among the leading pack after his displays in Qatar. Amrabat was a stand out for the Atlas Lions as they shocked Portugal, Spain and Belgium on their way to becoming the first African nation to reach the last four of the World Cup.
But while his performances made the watching millions stand up and take notice, Kingsley says nobody at Tynecastle batted an eyelid after he helped dump them in two Europa Conference League ties earlier this season. Hearts were left reeling after a 3-0 defeat to Fiorentina in Gorgie and a 5-1 humbling in Italy. But Kingsley says that experience of top level competition has left Robbie Neilson’s side desperate for more as they target third spot.
He said: “Fiorentina’s league position wasn’t a true reflection of how good a team they are. They had players everywhere on the pitch who could hurt you.
“Amrabat was one we looked at before we played them, and then after we played them there was a realisation of how much of a top a player he was. His performances at the World Cup did not come as a surprise to us boys. We watched a few of their games when we were away in Spain and I sat and watched one with Michael Smith where he was man of the match.
“He’s technically brilliant, his positional sense is amazing, the way he gets about and breaks up play, and he is calm and collected as well. So no-one here was shocked, to be honest.
“People maybe looked at Fiorentina’s league position and thought we had a chance to get at them. But you need to realise how good a team they actually were and with those kind of players it was always going to be difficult.
“But that experience was amazing for us and hopefully we can get another taste of it next season.”
Kingsley is back to full fitness and will be a key figure for the Jambos as the Premiership resumes against Kilmarnock this afternoon after the World Cup break. Two weeks after the Fiorentina clash in Florence the defender left the park in distress during their final Euro clash against RFS after injuring a hamstring for the second time this season.
It was just the latest problem for a Hearts backline that’s been beset by injuries meaning the preferred trio of Kingsley, Craig Halkett and Kye Rowles have played only 27 minutes together all season. World Cup star Rowles is suspended for this afternoon’s visit of Killie but all three are fit again.
And Kingsley said: “That’s probably our three most experienced boys at the back and you’re wanting as many minutes together as possible. Consistency is a massive thing for your backline and hopefully we get more of that now.
“I had done my hamstring at the beginning of the season after a good pre-season. So when I did the other one against RFS I was thinking it’s going to be really disappointing to be out again.
“The emotion .. sometimes it’s hard to deal with that knowing you’re going to miss games just when you feel like you are starting to get a bit of momentum again. Just missing any games is hard. There were big games coming up and I wanted to be as fit as possible to help the boys out. It was a tough period with some results we weren’t happy with to start the season.
“So you want to be as fit as you can be to help the boys as much as you can. It was difficult but that’s part of football and I’ve been through enough in my career to understand that. After the emotion died down I put it aside and focused on getting back to help the boys.
“I’ve had these injuries before and you know as soon as it happens it’s not like ‘we will see what happens’. I know my body and what it feels like, the emotions were already high playing in the game so when that happens it’s hard to deal with.”
Hearts’ Socceroo trio returned to training on Thursday and, while Rowles is banned after being sent off in the draw with Livingston, Kingsley reckons the trio’s Qatar energy can spur the Jambos on. He said: “You saw how well Kye did out there and it’s brilliant for him and Cammy and Natty to be out there, and good for us to see them repairing the rewards of their hard work as well.
“Everyone is delighted for them. We just need to get them back and hopefully all three will help us over the next few games.”
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