Colin Cameron believes Hearts may have signed a ‘new Paul Hartley’ in Aaron McEneff as he urged Robbie Neilson to give the former Tottenham youngster a run in the team.
The 25-year-old made a cameo appearance from the bench as the Tynecastle side moved 12 points clear at the top of the Scottish Championship with a win at Ayr United last week courtesy of a Liam Boyce penalty.
McEneff was one of Neilson’s top targets in the January window when he brought the Derry-born midfielder to Gorgie from Shamrock Rovers, where his form had been rewarded with a call up to the Ireland squad last year.
And former Hearts midfielder Cameron can see the similarities between the new recruit and Hearts hero Hartley, a teammate of Neilson, in his ability to provide a regular supply of goals from the centre of the pitch.
He called on the Hearts boss to give McEneff a chance from the start when Hearts go to Palmerston to face Queen of the South this evening.
Cameron told the Edinburgh Football Show: “He showed little glimpse of what he can do when to expect from him when he came on.
“Now that I’ve seen him for a little but, he excites and hopefully he’ll get an opportunity to see him.
“Probably the player he closest resembles is Paul Hartley. You can’t put him in the same bracket because he’s only just joined the club but potentially, he’s young enough to be at the club for a long time.
“If he can get in the team and stamp his authority on that position, there's no reason why he can't start knocking the goals in like Paul, that's the bracket he should be aiming for.”
Neilson encouraged his players to dig in and claim three points at Somerset Park in wintry conditions, though the Jambos face a late call to find out whether their clash in Dumfries beats the weather this week.
Should it survive the recent cold snap, Cameron expects a similar battling display, admitting that Neilson may have to sacrifice style over substance for the Gorgie side to extend their lead at the top of the division to 15 points.
“They’ll go down there with confidence and be determined. A similar performance as they got against Ayr will be just what Robbie will be looking for," he told the programme.
"He’ll want them to play better football, but they’ve got no fear. Queens are suffering a little bit, they are lacking a bit of confidence.
"They are 22 points behind Hearts and whilst that doesn't give you the rights to three points, I think Hearts should go and win there comfortably.
