Nothing flat about Hearts as Tomas Magnusson moves again while league leaders just won't budge
The Icelander iswas preparing to flit to his third set of capital digs after nagging his first goal in maroon during rout of Dundee
Tomas Magnusson is already into his third Edinburgh flat as Hearts reside on the Premiership’s top floor.
The Icelandic ace enjoyed a personal milestone when bagging his first goal for the Tynecastle club in Saturday’s rout of Dundee.
Magnusson’s late effort from the bench helped his team open more real estate between themselves and second-placed Celtic.
But, almost as soon as he was done with his work on the park, the 23-year-old was heading out of the stadium and towards his newest digs.
Magnusson is savouring life in the capital but, although settling into the dressing room has been made simple by colleagues, finding his ideal home hasn’t been so easy.
As he prepared to hit his next abode, he smiled: “I love the city, actually. It’s nice. It’s big, bigger than back home, but everything just kind of takes 20 to 30 minutes.
“I’ve settled in fine, except I’m moving into my third flat. Yeah, just now. Going to go move into my third apartment.
“Went to the second one, one extra bedroom. Didn’t really like it. Moved back to where we were. So, yeah, that’s it. But other than that, it’s really good.”
Magnusson might be moving around, but at this moment in time, there’s little sign of Hearts vacating their spot at the summit.
Derek McInnes’ team now have a nine-point lead, having taken care of Dundee with clinical and ruthless professionalism.
Hearts are making everyone sit up and take notice, including the natives of Magnusson’s own country.
Most of the world has Scotland marked down as an annual two-horse race for the title, but attention is now being drawn more and more to the fact the Jambos have firmly forced their way into this term’s conversation.
Magnusson said: “The news back home, they post about it a bit. They’ve been writing about Hearts being at the top because it’s usually just been Rangers and Celtic, but it’s just one game at a time.”
Asked if he expected to be involved in a title battle before he left his homeland for Scotland, he added: “Everyone just said Celtic, Rangers, no one’s near that.
“But it’s good. We’ve just got to keep aiming at the next game and see what will happen. But no, I wouldn’t say that, no.”
In fairness, it’s not just his Icelandic pals who couldn’t have seen this 29 points out of 33 haul for the opening round of fixtures coming. Few in Scotland envisaged it either, but the longer the run goes, the more belief grows.
Magnusson said: “Definitely. I mean, we’ve got a brilliant squad and we all believe in ourselves. Everyone’s in football to achieve something – you’ve just got to believe in yourself and the team.”
He is among the new boys who are assisting the charge. Landry Kabore gave a brilliant example of his striking talents with two excellent goals to open his club account as he deputised for Claudio Braga.
Skipper Lawrence Shankland led the way with a crisp opener and Magnusson hit the fourth. He said: “It was good to finally get one. Not just be a part of the goal, but score. It’s fun.
“Everyone’s contributing and I think [we’re] probably almost double digits now of goalscorers in the team.”
Magnusson has had to be patient, but he has made good use of his time by watching and learning from his team-mates.
He said: “I’m just trying to make the most of the minutes I get and help on the pitch or at the training ground as much as I can.
“The team’s been doing brilliantly. I can see how it’s all playing out and just watch the midfielders we’ve got in Beni (Baningime) and Cammy (Devlin), how they do the things they’re doing.
“They’ve been brilliant and it’s good to learn off them and see how they do it.
“They’ve been here for some years now and just asking them questions on what they do and what I shouldn’t do.
“But their message always to me is just relax and enjoy it, especially what Beni says, just enjoy it.
“If I would try to do too much, I don’t think it’d be a smart idea. Just try to come on and match the pace of the game.”
Magnusson has been afforded the chance to settle in quickly by local expertise.
He believes it’s a perfect mix – accepting “you’ll get it” if you do things wrong, while the bond is also there to encourage and ensure that’s a rare thing.
He added: “Everyone’s just friends in the dressing room.
“No one’s p***ed at anyone else by taking their place or anything like that. You can see that on the pitch as well.
“Unbeaten now, and I think it’s because how good friends we are. The Scottish guys know the ins and outs of the league. Shankland, obviously, Craig Halkett, Cammy and loads of other guys. They’ve all been here for so long.”
Boss McInnes is at the one at the front of the entire thing and Magnusson feels the warmth of a genuine leader.
He said: “He’s really vocal and really friendly with everyone, speaks to everyone and he’s really good in that sense, like man management.
“He’s just good in controlling and keeping everyone happy.”