Hearts: How religion helped Elton Kabangu through Covid coma

Kabangu is 27 and his time in football has been a character test, from FC Eindhoven, to Willem II, to Union Saint-Gilloise and now to Hearts on loan, brought in when his name showed up well in the data of the club partner, Jamestown Analytics.

Eight goals in 14 games. Not bad, but could be more, he says. Two against Brechin, two against Dundee, two against St Johnstone, one against Kilmarnock and Ross County. Nothing against a top-six team.

“I’m a striker and I’ve been important but I want to be more important,” he said.

“I had a good period and now it’s less goals, but I’m still confident. I’m not worried about myself, about my work ethic, because I know what I can bring and I will try to bring it.”

Changing that recent run (no goals in three and only one in seven) against Aberdeen at Hampden on Saturday is the target. It’s a game to help “save our season,” he says.

And, for Hearts, it’s a season most definitely in need of saving. Missing out on the top six in the league was a grim failure.

Kabangu only joined in January, but he’s been around long enough to know that it’s nowhere near good enough for a club of their size. He says he hardly left the house for a day or two after the 0-0 draw with Motherwell that confirmed their bottom-six fate.

“It’s a hard question to say what went wrong because we worked very hard and I’ve seen everyone focused. It’s just painful. The fans are angry and I’m also angry.

“We have to demand more and we have to do more, but I cannot stay in disappointment. I see so much more potential in this team and in this club, so when you don’t achieve those goals, it’s painful, that’s the truth.

“But after that you need to accept the reality. We have a semi-final and that’s important. We need to look forward.”