Andy Kirk would love to have both Aaron Hickey and Andy Irving available for his reserve side again this season, but at the same time is glad they aren’t.
Hickey arrived on the scene from relative obscurity towards the end of last season. Irving however, had a taste of first team action two seasons ago before being sent back out on loan again.
Since his return from Falkirk, he has established himself as a regular starter in the middle of midfielder so far this season under Craig Levein, and Kirk takes pride in the progress both have made.
“Those two have been great,” he said, “Whenever any of those boys step up to the first team and do well, it’s a proud moment for myself to look and where they’ve come from and where they are now. I’d love to have them - but I also love that I don’t have them, because that means they’ve done so well.
Irving’s rise to prominence has been more gradual than Hickey’s, but according to Kirk that’s no bad thing.
“They all have different paths and sometimes you need a loan or maybe two loans before the maturity levels kick in,” he explained.
“The loan really helped Andy last year, he came back a stronger character and his performances of late have been outstanding. He is unbelievable with the ball; his range of passing, his touch, his vision.
“His confidence and belief have risen now that he knows he can compete at this level. That’s a big part of it as well.
“Every player develops at different times and I feel like Andy is starting to come together as more of a package, whereas last season he was maybe lacking a little bit here or there.
“But this is the most important stage now, where they need to continue developing and not just think: ‘We are in the first team, that’s us’. No, that’s where the hard work STARTS. Hearts are a club where they will be pushed to continually improve.”
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