It’s not really a surprise that part of the message from the laissez-faire Beni Baningime to his fellow Heart of Midlothian midfielder is to “just enjoy it”.
Still fairly recently in the door, Tomas Magnusson has had two players in his position who are both in their fifth season at the club to sponge information off.
Unfortunately for the Icelander, Baningime and Cammy Devlin are in some of the best form of their Hearts careers.
And while he, like many others, is itching for more minutes, Magnusson has been using the opportunity since his summer arrival to learn as much as he can from the duo.
“They’ve been here for some years now and I’m just asking them questions on what they do and what I shouldn’t do,” he said. “But their message always to me is just relax and enjoy it, especially what Beni says, just enjoy it.”
A 19-minute runout on Saturday was the longest he has been on the pitch since his first, and only, start so far – in the Premier Sports Cup at St Mirren. A harsh early booking curtailed his game that afternoon in August in a difficult 45 minutes for Hearts. Mangusson was one of three half-time changes.
Two unused substitute appearances followed and his minutes since have been: 13’, 1’, 1’, 2’ 9’, 5’ and 19’. And like others who have had to make do with cameos here and there, his application when he is involved has been top quality.
Magnusson marked his latest appearance by applying the gloss to the 4-0 win over Dundee, stabbing in at the near post after Alexandros Kyziridis’ corner.
“I’m just trying to make the most of the minutes I get and just help the team on the pitch here or if it’s at the training ground as much as I can,” added Magnusson. “The team’s been doing brilliantly and I just try to make the most of what I can to help the team.
“It was good to finally get one in and not just be a part of the goal, but score the goal. It’s fun.
“I mean everyone’s contributing and I think probably almost double digits now of goalscorers in the team.”
In fact, he became Hearts’ 13th goalscorer this season in all competitions. Unless the towering midfielder was referring to Scottish Premiership scorers, that is. Magnusson is the side’s eighth league goalscorer this season, the 10th if you include own goals.
The 23-year-old has also used his time at Tynecastle so far to study from the sidelines, looking for parts of the game he can affect if called upon.
“I can see how it’s all playing out and just watch the midfielders we’ve got in Beni and Cammy, how they do the things they’re doing. I mean they’ve been brilliant and it’s good to learn off them and see how they do it,” he said.
“[When on the pitch], if I try to do too much, I don’t think it’d be a smart idea. I just try to come on and match the pace of the game.
“Like on Saturday, we were 3-0 up or 4-0 up and we just managed the game – trying to use the ball well.”
All reports since the start of the pre-season training camp in Spain back in June – that the vast majority of the current squad was involved in – indicate a harmonious dressing room.
That camaraderie has been evident in the matches so far: from the professional performances in the League Cup group stage to the never-say-die attitude on show at Tannadice and at home to Motherwell and the ruthlessness displayed at Rugby Park.
But amid all the positivity is an adherence to driving standards. That goes without saying in a Derek McInnes dressing room and there is no shortage of leaders, alongside Devlin and Baningime, many of whom have been at the club for a fair few campaigns.
“That’s just how good a group it is,” said Magnusson. “Everyone’s just friends in the dressing room. No one’s pissed off at anyone else by taking their place or anything like that.
“You can see that on the pitch as well. I mean, unbeaten now and I think it’s because how good friends we are.
“It’s the guys that have been here for some time. The Scottish guys know the ins and outs about the league.
“So yeah, [Lawrence] Shankland, obviously, [Craig] Halkett, Cammy now as well – and loads of other guys as well. They’ve all been here for so long.”
Hearts’ rise this season and their potential threat to the duopoly in Scotland has made the news in Magnusson’s homeland. Like so many others, their attention is piqued after so many years of dominance from Rangers and Celtic.
Though there was little time after Saturday’s win for the midfielder to check if he’d made headlines back home. Magnusson may be settling in well to life at Tynecastle, but he is yet settle on a home in Edinburgh.
Far from putting his feet up on Saturday night to bask in the glory of his first Hearts goal, he was instead preparing to move into his third flat in his short stay so far in the capital. He explained: “I went to the second one with one extra bedroom, didn’t really like it. Moved back to where we were.”
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Magnusson’s next aim will be to earn more starts than he’s had flats since his move to Hearts. Though his recent contributions from the bench suggest he is one of the next in line. His chance will come as the fixtures pile up towards the end of the year, if not before.
Where Hearts are right now has surpassed the expectations of the Icelander when he joined in the summer, but the belief that they can mount a title race is understandably growing with each win.
“I mean, [before] coming in here, everyone just said Celtic, Rangers, no one’s near that,” he said. “But it’s good. We’ve just got to keep aiming at the next game, looking forward to the next game and see what will happen.
“I mean, we’ve got a brilliant squad, like I said before, and we all believe in ourselves. I think everyone’s in football to achieve something and you’ve just got to believe in yourself and the team.”
