Craig Halkett says he will not wilt under the weight of expectation at Hearts.
The new Jambos defender was left shocked as his team were booed off after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with East Fife despite the point being good enough to see Craig Levein’s side into the last 16 of the Betfred Cup.
Halkett was one of the few men in maroon that could look back on his display with satisfaction, however.
And he believes the pressure of pleasing the demanding Tynecastle faithful will bring out his best.
The summer signing from Livingston told PA: “I got a wee taste of what the fans can be like when we went behind against Stenhousemuir in midweek.
“Thankfully we came back to get the result but there were still some mumbles and groans.
“That’s just the demands that are placed on you when you’re at a big club in Scotland. You just have to take it on the chin and hope it spurs you on even more.
“It’s a completely different pressure from last season at Livi we’re operating under here. The majority of games we’re favourites to win.
“But I think I can thrive under that pressure and I’m looking forward to the challenge.
“Obviously Saturday wasn’t good enough. No disrespect to East Fife but us being the Premiership team, we should be winning the game.
“We knew we had to win the game by a few goals to give us a shot at being seeded and we’ve not done that.
“We’re quite disappointed but we just have to look at the positives – we’re through after topping the group and that’s the main thing.”
