Robbie Neilson has urged Hearts fans to be patient with new signings Yutaro Oda and Garang Kuol - citing "culture differences" as a huge obstacle to climb.
Kuol signed on loan from Newcastle over the winter window after a superb season at Central Coast Mariners resulted in a World Cup call-up for Australia in Qatar. Having scored six goals in just 18 games for the Mariners at the ages of just 17 and 18, the high-flying Geordies swooped in - but first-team football was imperative with Hearts swooping for his services on a six-month deal.
Oda, on the other hand, was on the books at Vissel Kobe after joining them as a teenager; scoring three goals in 60 games as a winger before the move to the capital city. But after admitting himself that he is setting into the new lifestyle and culture in Scotland, Oda needs time - with Neilson backing those claims and urging patience amongst the Jambos faithful to give their new man time if he is to succeed.
Neilson said: “He is in a different continent in a different culture playing a different style of football. We have an interpreter getting the language across to him so that he understands what we are trying to do. It's going to take time. He just needs to take his 20 minutes here and 30 minutes there.
“It's the same with Garang. He is a young kid so there are certain games he will start and others when he will come on. It's about development for both of them.
“We just played a Scottish Cup tie on a Friday night on astroturf, it was bucketing down with rain, a 200-miles-an-hour game. You can actually end up hindering young players like that by putting them into those situations."
Oda previously admitted how he had to change up his game from his time in the J-League - becoming more 'hands-on' with his role at Tynecastle. He said: “I usually play as one of the two strikers so I am required to run in behind and break the (opposition’s defensive) line. Most of all, the manager requires me to score goals or get assists.
"I think this is very important because to score or assist is required more here in Scotland than in Japan. So I want to be scoring and assisting for Hearts.”
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