Jamie Walker’s head is a mess alright. But the only club responsible for that is his own.
At Parkhead yesterday, for the second weekend on the spin, Hearts found themselves in the ridiculous situation of leaving their best player at home.
For what? Not signing a new contract at Tynecastle? He’s not the first and certainly won’t be the last young Jambos player to do that.
Jason Holt, Callum Paterson and Sam Nicholson did likewise, meaning Hearts got next to nothing for kids they had nurtured when they moved on.
But they weren’t ostracised by the club in the way Walker has.
He’s been hung out to dry by the Hearts hierarchy and director of football Craig Levein.
Made a scapegoat, if you like, for what has gone wrong in Gorgie since the catastrophic appointment of Ian Cathro as gaffer.
The facts are Ann Budge and Levein have known since December that their 15-goal wide man had no plans to extend his stay at the club.
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The boy’s mind was made up that he wanted a new challenge.
But it didn’t stop him excelling in a maroon shirt for the rest of last season. The Tynecastle punters will testify to that.
There’s a notion, perpetuated by Cathro last week and interim boss Jon Daly, that because his ‘head’s been turned’ Walker’s attitude has been poor. But that’s nonsense.
Walker is not the type to put the tools away under any circumstances.
Ask any of his team-mates or coaches. Ask Jack Ross who worked with him at Hearts previously. You won’t hear a bad word against him.
He’s one of the most hard working, unassuming players in the country.
That’s why when Cathro pulled him at training last Friday and told him he was being left out of the Hearts squad to face Dunfermline in the Betfred Cup, Walker was astounded.
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The claim that his performance level had dropped and that his head wasn’t right just didn’t stack up.
Let’s be clear. After some impressive pre-season displays – particularly against Newcastle – Walker was deemed to be in the right frame of mind to face Peterhead on the Tuesday night at Balmoor. The Hearts players then had a day off on the Wednesday before returning to training on the Thursday.
So are we really supposed to believe that Cathro – or the club’s – decision to omit Walker for the Saturday was based on just ONE training session?
It didn’t make sense. The former manager’s withering explanation as to why he wasn’t even on the bench against Pars was proof of that.
The player himself was angry that his commitment had been called into question and disappointed at being denied the chance to play.
At that point, his head WAS all over the place as Walker tried to figure out what he’d done wrong.
The only conclusion that can be drawn from the sorry episode – which has co-incided with Cathro’s demise as manager – is that games are now being played with regards to Walker’s future.
The minute Cathro chinned him at Riccarton that Friday looks to have been the trigger for the club to try and move him on this transfer window.
It’s no secret that Walker’s preferred destination is Ibrox, with Rangers having already declared an interest and had a bid rejected.
Hearts are well within their rights to demand £1million for him. That’s the prerogative of Budge and Levein.
For Holt, Paterson, Nicholson and Walker, they should have copped a total of around £5m. But instead, if Walker goes for free in the summer, they’ll have got £500k tops for the lot.
By publicly trying to demean the player, they’ve let it be known to clubs they want to do business.
It’s a pity they couldn’t have done so with more class and dignity.
And without depriving themselves of a player who might just have saved them a doing against Celtic yesterday.