{"id":352644,"date":"2026-01-05T02:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T02:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/352644\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T02:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T02:09:09","slug":"inside-hearts-dressing-room-as-celtic-and-rangers-title-fight-that-has-never-been-experienced-sparks-one-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/352644\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Hearts dressing room as Celtic and Rangers title fight that has ‘never been experienced’ sparks one thing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new recruit has been thrown in at the deep end – but reckons the crowd demands are bringing out the best in the squadDarren Johnstone and Mark Pirie<\/a> Assistant Live Sports Editor<\/p>\n

22:30, 04 Jan 2026<\/p>\n

(Image: SNS Group)<\/p>\n

Jordi Altena admits his bold career gamble has paid off after going from the Dutch amateur ranks to the Scottish Premiership<\/a> summit within a year.<\/p>\n

The right-back impressed on his Hearts<\/a> debut in Saturday\u2019s 1-0 victory over Livingston as the Jambos moved six points clear at the top. Altena was thrown straight into action just days after sealing a switch from Waalwijk in a deal in excess of \u00a3500,000.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old only spent six months with the second-tier outfit after joining from non-league side De Treffers. And Altena insists going to the bottom of the ladder has been the perfect springboard after leaving Vitesse Arnhem in summer 2024.<\/p>\n

Altena said: \u201cIt\u2019s a crazy journey! It was a disappointment because I had to leave my old club Vitesse. But the training of the team I went to, De Treffers, just gave me such confidence to get back to where I belong.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter one year that happened \u2013 and then I came right back and now I\u2019m here. So it can go really fast in football.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt De Treffers we played in front of about 500 fans but that level was really good. I think with that combination I experienced a lot and now I am who I am. So it\u2019s a lovely story.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you see the other side, you get humbled. I know young players who play their whole life in a professional team and they think, \u2018I\u2019m the guy\u2019. But if you get humbled like that, then that\u2019s a good thing. I think that I\u2019m very humble. I\u2019m not like, \u2018Oh, I went to an amateur club and now I\u2019m not that guy anymore\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a journey over many years and is not just about this season. Being humble \u2014 that\u2019s the most important thing I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Altena could easily have remained in the Dutch top-flight in the academy system but admits that he wanted to get his hands dirty playing mens\u2019 football. He said: \u201cAt a young age you have to play many games as high as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy opinion was when I went back to the amateur club, I could play in the first team and get physically better than play in the under-21s or under-23s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could have gone to some clubs and played under-21s or under-23s but I wanted first-team football.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the most important thing \u2014 to play at the highest level possible. I know I can play football, so that\u2019s not what I have to work on but my improvement point was physically.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what I can do with the ball and how I can play. I\u2019m really confident about that and that doesn\u2019t surprise me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Altena provided the cross that saw Craig Halkett<\/a> head home a stunning goal in the 18th minute<\/a> in what turned out to be the difference between the sides.<\/p>\n

But after passing up good chances to double their advantage, Hearts fans had to endure a nervy second period as Derek McInnes\u2019 side saw out the victory.<\/p>\n

Despite the tension inside Tynecastle after the break, Altena loved every second of his derby. And he said: \u201cIt was amazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree points is the most important thing and the atmosphere was amazing \u2013 I\u2019m not used to that so it\u2019s a great feeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe game is different than in Holland so I have to get used to it but to get the three points and the assist was great.<\/p>\n

Heart of Midlothian’s Craig Halkett (centre) is mobbed by his team mates after scoring his side\u2019s winner<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a good header, a hard header because he was so far out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe players just told me to cross the ball, it does matter if it\u2019s the first post, second post, penalty spot, we\u2019ll just be there because we play with two strikers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo for me that\u2019s a good feeling because I like to cross. I\u2019ve settled in \u2013 the boys are just so nice and they made me feel at home since the first day so that\u2019s something I really like.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the fans \u2014 it\u2019s not that if I walk on the pitch and there are so many fans that I would get scared.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just got a boost from it and I think that combination just worked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe manager just told me, \u2018be yourself, we got you here because you played like you played at your old club, so just be yourself, don\u2019t be scared\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gave me great confidence, it\u2019s beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

It turned out to be a big day in the title race after Celtic lost to Rangers in the lunch-time kick-off and Hearts took advantage to move six points clear.<\/p>\n

A trip to Dundee is next up and Altena is relishing playing his part for the table-toppers.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cIt\u2019s a feeling I\u2019ve never experienced so I think that\u2019s also good for my improvement. But it feels amazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou feel the atmosphere in the team and in the stadium also. They expect much from us.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe today wasn\u2019t as good as it has been all season.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think if you win these games then you can really do something.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The new recruit has been thrown in at the deep end – but reckons the crowd demands are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[2817,63797,218,9531,2714,8058,101,56,54,55,37776],"class_list":["post-352644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-celtic-fc","tag-derek-mcinnes","tag-football","tag-hearts-fc","tag-rangers-fc","tag-scottish-premiership","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-west-lothian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}