Getting to the middle of September and still not having a new employer is far from ideal for any footballer, but if you've spent six years 'enjoying' what the Scottish public are forced to regard as 'summer', there are certain benefits to be had from being a man of leisure during pre-season.

"I was actually thinking about that at the start of the week," Peter Haring told Hearts Standard in his first interview since leaving Tynecastle. "Monday was the first time I was wearing trousers again since I left Scotland because the sun was so good over here.

"It's by far the longest summer I've ever had since I started playing football so I can't complain about that. It's been absolutely roasting over here the whole time. I almost forgot how hot it can be back home."

Other than enjoying the endorphins through the increase in vitamin D, many players in Haring's position would be forgiven for freaking out at this point in time. Even for Heart of Midlothian supporters wishing him all the best for the future, it's concerning to see he hasn't yet found himself a new club back in his homeland. But Haring isn't stressing himself just yet. His free agency is a matter of circumstance more than anything, though a circumstance which is familiar to anyone who knew of his work in maroon and white.

"I only recovered [from knee surgery] not too long ago," he revealed. "When I decided to do the surgery, I knew by the time that I was going to leave and I wanted to give myself the best chance possible for the summer. I was hoping that doing that surgery would get me fit for preseason. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. Everything took a little bit longer."

Unfortunately for all involved, it follows on Haring's time at Tynecastle.

Prior to the knee injury which ultimately curtailed his Tynecastle career, he was robbed of 15 months following his debut season due to a persistent pelvic issue, then missed a further six months in his penultimate season due to post-concussion symptoms which stubbornly refused to retreat.

"The problem with my knee was bothering me for quite a long time over the last couple of seasons," he continued. "Last year it got really bad quite quickly so we had to do something about that.

"Ideally, I would have a club by now. I was hoping that everything would work out quicker than it did. But what's most important is that I feel healthy again.

"I worked hard for a couple months just by myself or with the physio here. If you don't have a club you do a lot on your own and it's mentally really tough, but when I actually started training with a team here again I was surprised that I was actually in a really good shape. There were no problems with my knee, or my fitness, so I feel really, really good at the moment.

"The other thing is that I always say that all the years I missed through injury, I put them at the end of my career. It worked out for Craig Gordon. I said that to him and he was like, 'Yeah, that worked fine for me,' so he's definitely someone I look up to in that perspective.

"Hopefully in the next few weeks something will happen."

Read more

The injury actually kept Haring at Hearts a little longer than he initially expected. When the transfer window opened in January, the midfielder hadn't played a single minute since giving away a penalty at the end of the 2-1 defeat to Rangers - a moment for which he sarcastically and glumly thanked this writer for reminding him - the previous October.

Not content to see out his time in Edinburgh at the back of the bench, Haring approached his manager, stating his dissatisfaction. He did get one more appearance, playing 90 minutes in a 2-0 away win at Livingston, but he knew the writing was on the wall.

"The first time we [he and Steven Naismith] had a chat was in winter where I was thinking that I might leave because I wasn't really happy with the time I got on the pitch," he explained. 

"I wasn't preparing to leave but I was just thinking about what's going to happen. I told him and he knew already that I wasn't really happy with not playing and sitting on the bench. So we had a conversation and it probably would have happened if my knee problems didn't come up.

"I've always had a good relationship with Naisy, so I think we both knew what was going to happen, so there was no need for him to tell me.  I mean, he did have to at the very end, but that was like in the last couple of weeks when he told me, 'Yeah, you're not getting a deal'. I was like, 'Yeah, I know that!'

"When you're in the football business, sometimes you just don't need to say anything, you just know what's going to happen."

Regrettably due to his recovery from surgery, Haring didn't get to experience one final moment where the Hearts support welcomed him onto the field as a player, but the club did thank him for his years of service with a guard of honour moments after the final game of the 2023/24 season – just shortly after Kyosuke Tagawa had slammed the ball into the back of the Rangers late to complete a late 3-3 comeback.

"It's probably the most nervous I've ever been in that stadium," he admitted. "I didn't know that it was going to happen until a couple of days before when Naisy actually told me. After that, I was speaking to [head of football operations] Claire Cowan and Naisy and they were like, 'If that's okay for you, you want to do that?' And I was like, 'Yeah, it's no problem'.

"Then obviously the game was really enjoyable with the last-minute equaliser. We went back into the changing room and I was just thinking, 'Hopefully there's a few people still out there'. And then when I actually went out I looked around and the stadium was still packed. So it was a very nice touch. It was very emotional."

(Image: Roddy Scott - SNS Group)

As you may have noticed from his endearing use of the word "like", Haring really took to life in Edinburgh and was proud to call it home during his six years in the Capital. But having decided to return to his native Austria instead of hanging around for an offer on these shores, is that the end of his love affair with Scottish football?

He explained: "You know, when I knew that I was going to leave Hearts, I was more in that mindset of 'that's me done', especially if I want to have another experience abroad: somewhere else in some other country to learn a new mentality, culture, new style of football, whatever. But obviously, if something comes up, I'm happy to talk to teams because you realise you miss things when they're gone.

"Scotland is a really enjoyable league in which to play football. I think Scottish people sometimes underestimate how enjoyable it is over there, how good the atmosphere is in stadiums and just around football in general. I I always said that to everyone here in Austria, that Scottish people are just daft about football. I mean that as a good thing obviously. It is a really good place to work as a professional footballer.

"It still feels a bit weird to have left, probably because I haven't signed for another team yet. I can only say that my time at Hearts was great and I loved it over there."

Part 2 of Hearts Standard's chat with Peter Haring will be released later this week.