Scott Fraser: Hearts appeal, long-term hope, Naismith talks

He spoke to the media following his move and spoke about the uncertainty of the transfer, why he wanted to move north and how he will fit into the Hearts XI.

READ MORE: Why Scott Fraser can be a Hearts star and where he fits in Steven Naismith's XI

Back home for your debut, are you expecting stick?

Aye, probably. There will be a few of my pals in there as well. You couldn’t write it. I’m really looking forward to it, I’m excited to go back. There will be some friends and family but I think they’ll be in the Hearts end, thankfully. But there will be a good group of pals in the home end.

How did the move come about?

There has been interest from Hearts a few times over the past 18 months. It was probably harder to do back then. But with my family situation with my daughter and missus not particularly enjoying being away from home I spoke to my agents about getting something back home. That was in early January and Scottish clubs would come up and as soon as Hearts came up I was: Can we get this done now? It dragged on a little longer than I would have wanted but I am here now.

Was there ever a concern it wouldn't get done?

Yeah. Probably after I did my medical two Sundays ago. It was done and then driving up to Dundee I got a phone call to say Charlton had said no. So it dragged on for two weeks after that. There were times when I was sitting up in Dundee wondering whether I should head back to London. So to get the phone call to say it was getting closer was a relief. I just tried to get everything I needed to do done as quickly as possible.

Was the holdup due to the manager change?

I don’t think it was the manager change because they still don’t have one now. The clubs were speaking and I don’t know if it was money related or not.  The previous manager never said I had to go, he just said things were outwith his control. That was fine, it got me up the road quicker than I would have been otherwise, which was a bonus.

How have you felt adapting to the group?

I have really enjoyed it, it’s a really good group to come into. I know Boycey really well and I have played against the majority of the English lads. So it was easy to get on with them straight away. I have had two sessions now, the standard is good, the sharpness is good, you can see what the manager wants and they’re buying into that.

Did you have other options?

There were a few other Scottish clubs but when a club like Hearts came in that’s what I wanted to do. In terms of English clubs, it was never something I wanted to do. If I was going to leave Charlton I wanted to come home. Thankfully we managed to agree that.

For those unfamiliar with your game, how would you describe yourself as a player?

Somebody who likes to get on the ball as much as I can and be involved in the game as often as I can. Try and get involved with my front players and wide players and get goals and assists, that’s what I have done over my time in England. I've managed to get goals and assists in the majority of my seasons there. That’s what I’ll be looking to bring here.

READ MORE: Steven Naismith Q&A: Fraser's Hearts role, striker depth, Shankland contract

What were the conversations you had with Steven Naismith?

He didn’t have to convince me to sign for Hearts, it was more speaking about where he saw me fitting in to get the best out of me. He went over the different systems and shapes he plays and the movements he likes from his midfielders. And everything really suited me. I was at the Dundee game when the lads did well to come back and win 3-2 and I was watching it thinking there were little areas and pockets where I could get on the ball. It was similar to the Aberdeen game last weekend. Looking at how they play is what he said. And in the two training sessions, I have seen where I fit into that.

It must be exciting as a creative midfielder to have a striker like Lawrence Shankland to turn passes into assists? 

I’ll just put it in the box somewhere and he’ll do the rest and I’ll get the assist! You’ve got him and you’ve got Boycey, who I think is an incredible footballer, technically unbelievable. When we were at Burton he made me look so much better than I was because I would pass it to him and he was the strongest man in the world! He’d hold it up and I’d run off him. I’ve known Shanks since we were younger from Scotland camps and playing against him and he’s always been a very good finisher. He’s gone away to Ayr and really gone up the levels and matured as a player and he’s reaping the rewards of that now.

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If Hearts like what they see from you and you like what you see from them would you hope something longer term can be sorted out?

Yeah. That would be between the two clubs to discuss, it was hard enough getting this one done! Right now I am just enjoying being here while I can. I have another year left at Charlton so we’ll wait and see. If I could get up the road I would like to. I think if I told my missus in the summer we had to head back down she wouldn’t be too happy. But I am very respectful of Charlton as well because they were good to me and there are some good people there. From a personal point of view if something permanent could be done up here in Scotland I would look at that.

If Hearts manage to get that European spot it would be difficult to turn down?

Any chance to play in Europe, even just any chance to come and play at Tynecastle in front of 19-20,000 people every week is something that really excites me. There are some big games up here to play in and if we can continue how we have done this season we can hopefully maintain third spot.