Nathaniel Atkinson has packed more than most footballers into the last two years and the defender is determined to help Hearts prolong their continental adventure and continue his remarkable journey.
An A-League Grand Final winner with Melbourne City in 2021, Atkinson became an Olympian with Australia a few weeks later. Fast forward little more than 12 months and he was playing for the Socceroos at the World Cup in Qatar with European competition under his belt. Throw in a Scottish Cup final and a third-place finish in the Premiership and it has been a whirlwind spell for the full-back.
However, the experiences keep on coming for the 24-year-old as Hearts prepare to battle for their Europa Conference League survival against PAOK in Greece on Thursday. Trailing 2-1 from a first-leg at Tynecastle that could have swung either way, Atkinson is convinced the Jambos can turn things around in Thessaloniki this week.
“I’ve had a lot of experiences now,” he said. “The Olympics and the World Cup and Europe, and we had a Scottish Cup final as well. These are the games you want to play in and they give you something to work towards, because you want to get back in those games and situations.
“It’s every boy’s little dream to play at a World Cup and you never really think you’re going to get there. It makes all the sacrifices worthwhile.Football moves so quickly that probably two years ago I wouldn’t even have thought about being in the national team at all.
“Then everything comes so quickly and moving overseas probably helped that. It’s been an enjoyable journey.
“They’re all experiences you don’t want to take for granted, because football doesn’t really last that long. These are all things you can hold in your memories and hopefully tell your grandchildren about.
“This is where the club wants to be, in European football every year, and we’ve still got a good shot at that. It’s up to us on the pitch to get the result. It was disappointing not to at least not come away with a draw on Thursday night. We have to go away to Greece this time and hopefully turn it around.”
PAOK’s supporters will make the renowned Toumba Stadium as inhospitable as possible to ‘welcome’ Hearts this week. However, Atkinson believes the Jambos will revel in their intimidating surroundings, just like they do when taking on Celtic and Rangers in Glasgow.
“We’ll relish the atmosphere over there,” he added. “Obviously, Tynecastle is packed out most games. It’ll be a different type of atmosphere over there, probably a lot more hostile. But every footballer wants to play in the biggest games and this, for us, is the biggest game, to move onto the next round.
“We know what Ibrox and Celtic Park are like, it’s hostile, and I’ve played in plenty of big games and been at the World Cup. This is what football’s all about.”
In the meantime, the focus is on domestic challenges, with Hearts travelling to face Dundee this afternoon.
“We’ve got that goal of qualifying for Europe set for this season as well,” said Atkinson. “The best way to do that is to get a result up at Dundee. The more wins you get the more momentum builds. So hopefully we can get a win up at Dundee and then move on to Thursday’s game.”
Meanwhile, Steven Naismith is convinced Kenneth Vargas can thrive at Hearts after watching the Costa Rican summer signing right in the middle of Thursday’s ‘rough and tumble’ against PAOK. When he angrily berated match-winner Andrija Zivkovic for apparent play-acting it was reminiscent of Naismith himself.
“Kenneth knows the opportunity of coming from Costa Rica to here and where it can take him to,” said Naismith, Hearts’ technical director, of the 21-year-old. “Thursday night was a game we felt he was ready to start. He starts and puts on a great performance.
“He might give the ball away but his hunger to get it back is brilliant. He’s got that steeliness, I think.
“A question mark over most signings who come to Scotland is, ‘are they robust enough?’. I think he’s shown that. He’s up for the fight. He’s happy to get involved in the rough and tumble of it.”
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