Jon Daly defends John Souttar over Rangers move
Jon Daly has come to the defence of John Souttar over the Hearts defender’s decision to sign for Rangers on a free-transfer.
The Scotland international recently signed a pre-contract signalling his intention to move to Ibrox at the end of his contract at Tynecastle, and some Hearts fans felt this showed a lack of loyalty to their club (Daily Record).
Former Gers striker and Hearts coach Daly feels the player had no obligation to sign a new deal despite the club standing by him through injury.
The Irishman told the Record Rangers podcast, as quoted by the Daily Record: “The loyalty issue is a bugbear of mine.
“It’s a short career for footballers and those injuries could have been the end of John Souttar’s career.
“It works both ways. The club were loyal to John because they saw he was an asset going forward and saw that getting him fit they could probably make money off the back of him.
“There are plenty of players who get serious injuries who don’t get looked after. Nobody ever calls the club out for not being loyal.”
Part of the game
It comes as no surprise that there will be fans of the centre-back’s current club who feel let down by his decision to move to a rival who is currently dominant in the league.
While other fans will see the player’s perspective, for some it will always feel like a betrayal.
There is an argument to be made that the scale of the injury problems he has suffered mean he owes the Edinburgh side something, as they supported his recovery from multiple lay-offs that saw him only able to feature sparingly over the previous two seasons.
But Daly makes a valid point that this kind of sentimentality is rarely part of the equation when decisions are being made on the part of the club.
Hearts will not have seen Souttar through his rehabilitation and put him back into the team out of charity but because they felt that he gave them the best chance to win.
At the same time, it is only because they trusted him to perform on the pitch after the injury set-backs that he was able to prove to his new side in Glasgow that he was worth signing, so there is an element of balance.
But ultimately the playing career of any footballer is short, and someone with the history of the 25-year-old will know it could end at any time so to take opportunities while they are available.
Hearts have performed well in their return to the Scottish Premiership, but they are neither the reigning champions, nor are they in pole position to defend their title.
And with the decision reportedly being influenced by serious family illness, it is important to remember that a player’s personal circumstances will ultimately take precedence.
In other Rangers news, this signing is being hailed as the ‘steal of the century’.