Bonnyrigg Rose defender Josh Grigor on what went wrong at Hearts and seizing his chance

With two solid performances under his belt against Clyde and Hibs, the young centre-back’s career is moving in the right direction again.

The former Scotland Under-16s captain came through the Hearts academy with Aaron Hickey before off-the-field issues stalled his progress.

He was subsequently beset by health problems and when he got a taste of first-team football at Stenhousemuir, Covid brought the campaign to a sudden stop.

He dropped down to the East of Scotland League last season, but sees Bonnyrigg as a fresh start.

Grigor, 20 next month, did enough on trial to be awarded a one-year contract by manager Robbie Horn and, with experienced Rose defender Alan Horne away on holiday, was thrown straight into the starting XI for the first two Premier Sports Cup games against Clyde and Hibs.

“Josh read the game really well against Hibs and was excellent,” said Horn. “He was outstanding against Clyde as well.

“He’s a young lad who has had a few things go against him. Since he’s come in here his attitude has been fantastic. He’s done really well in training.

“Maybe if other people had been available he might not have had the opportunity [to start the first two Premier Sports Cup games]. But he’s taken that opportunity with both hands.”

Grigor was seven when he first joined Hearts and signed full-time in June 2018, two months before his 16th birthday, along with Hickey and seven other Riccarton academy graduates.

Hearts had high hopes, awarding Grigor a three-year contract, but it didn’t work out and he left before his deal expired.

“There were some off-the-field issues,” he explained. “It was difficult. I ended up deciding I wanted to leave. I didn’t think it was the place for me.

“I’ve had my fair share of bad luck. When I