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Fagan-Walcott relishing 'shock to the system' with Hearts
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- Fagan-Walcott relishing 'shock to the system' with Hearts
Malachi Fagan-Walcott admits it is a "shock to the system" to be playing for Hearts in the Conference League only two years since turning out for York City against Braintree Town in the National League.
The 24-year-old centre-half did get a taste for European football with his local club while growing up in London.
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"Growing up at the Tottenham academy, I've always had the luxury of watching European competitions," he said after travelling to face Thun on Thursday.
"To play in it is like a dream come true. For me, it's one of the biggest stages in football. This is the ultimate."
Fagan-Walcott had spells with Dundee and Dunfermline Athletic while on loan from Spurs and Cardiff City respectively, but it is after his summer move from York to Tynecastle where he first experienced the scale of support in Gorgie on a European night.
"Coming out for the warm-up and seeing the crowd, you think, I was at Braintree a couple of years ago," he recalled.
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"It's a reality check, but it's good. It is a shock to the system at some point."
On the field of play, Fagan-Walcott has had to come to terms with the increased quality and intensity.
"Sometimes you can afford not to track a run when I was at York, because the person who had the ball didn't have the quality to play it," he said.
"Whereas now you've just got to make sure you're switched on at all times, because that one lapse in concentration and the ball's gone and the ball's in the back of your net."
Fagan-Walcott has also had to adapt to a new tactical system, having predominantly operated as the right-sided centre-half in a back three.
"You don't have that middle centre-half as your anchor," he added. "You can't just get the ball, pass it and run on like I used to."
