Celtic on a Saturday night at Tynecastle. Followed by a Europa Conference League tie in Belgium, then a clash with Aberdeen who are joint top of the league. All in the space of eight days.
For some players, that schedule might look a bit daunting. But for Frankie Kent, it’s exactly why he joined Hearts in the first place. The big centre-back is relishing the Jambos’ return after the international break when the big games will be coming thick and fast.
Neil Critchley’s side are still languishing in 11th place in the Scottish Premiership table. But performances under their new gaffer have offered encouragement, especially their displays against German side Heidenheim and a narrow defeat to Rangers at Ibrox last weekend. Kent certainly isn’t shying away from the challenge that’s ahead, including that huge trio of fixtures in quick succession. When he left Peterborough United for Gorgie in summer 2023, a few people in England may have raised eyebrows at his decision to head to Edinburgh.
But Kent has no regrets about moving north and says he can’t wait for these games that could go a long way to defining Hearts’ campaign. The 28-year-old said: “I’m not too sure what people down south said when I came here but everyone knows Hearts are a big club.
“And to be doing what I’m doing now – playing in all these big games – just shows it. This is what you want to do. You want to challenge yourself against better teams and better players all the time. The big games are coming fast for us but that’s what we want.
“We want to test ourselves and that’s why we’re here. We’ve just played Rangers, now we play the two other best teams in the league. And we have a European away game in between.
“That’s why I came here, I want to be playing in these games and test myself. You don’t want an easy ride. It’s tough but it’s enjoyable.
“Obviously, we don’t like losing but we have to take the positives from the 1-0 defeat at Ibrox, learn from them and try to use them to become better. They’re hard games. You don’t want to put too much importance on it. At the same time, we know the situation we’re in.
“But it’s November and it’s not like we’re chasing with a month of the season to go. We know we need to be better and improve – but you also have to have clear heads. From a league perspective, things can change quickly.”
They’ll have to if Hearts are to start climbing the table before the New Year. Critchley’s men are feeling the heat after a dismal start to the season has left them scrambling for positive results.
But they’re still only six points off the top half and Kent believes they’ll soon turn a corner. He said: “Nobody is thinking this season has been good enough, we know it hasn’t.
“And we’re aware that if you don’t get results it builds pressure on you. But football can change very quickly. A few wins in a row and suddenly things start looking a bit better. It has to be game by game for us now. We must try to put in as good a performance as we can against Celtic next week and take it from there.”
Critchley’s arrival at Tynecastle has definitely seen an upturn in Hearts’ performance levels. Kent has been impressed by the Englishman’s methods and the impact he’s had on the Jambos squad – despite only being in the job for a month.
The centre-half revealed he’s instilled a new-found confidence in the players. And he’s convinced that more time on the training pitch over the international break can lead to elusive victories.
Kent said: “The manager has worked on the finer details with us. I think you can see from the last few games what we’re trying to do and the belief he’s given us in that.
“He’s helped with certain things – but, of course, there’s a realisation that we have to be better. At the start of the season nobody was playing well enough to warrant getting results.
“We have started to play better, boys are now performing to how we’re supposed to be doing. That will help us get results, that’s what it’s all geared to with the gaffer.
“He hasn’t had too long on the training ground because of the schedule. We have played seven or eight games in a month.
“So the international break has been important, for resting up as well as working on the things he wants to
focus on. We need to fine tune certain things to make us better.”