Hearts midfielder Beni Baningime backs new recruit Ellis Simms to hit goal trail

Hearts midfielder Beni Baningime has told fans they will not have long to wait to see Ellis Simms scoring.

Simms made his Hearts debut off the bench against Celtic on Wednesday and looked lively as Robbie Neilson’s side fell just short in their comeback attempts.

The Everton loan striker has been reunited with former Goodison Park team-mate Baningime and the midfielder is excited about seeing his friend in maroon.

The 21-year-old scored 10 goals in half a season with Blackpool last term and Baningime is sure he will soon hit the net in Scotland.

“We’ve got a great player,” Baningime said. “I was speaking to him before he signed, I was telling him about the games, the fans, the league and just how passionate everyone is. He said he really wanted to join.

“I thought he was brilliant on Wednesday night. It’s good to see him and soon you’ll see him scoring hopefully.

“Straight away he was ready. I’m really happy for him, I knew he was going to get going, so now I’m just waiting on his first goal.”

Baningime feels Simms’ pace is his biggest attribute.

“He’s lightning,” he added. “You can give him a bad ball and he’ll make it into a good ball. That’s an attribute that not many people have and when he gets into those positions, he can put the ball away.

“We were training with the (Everton) first team, and he looked really good. I think he’ll do well here and kick on to whatever he wants to do after that.”

Join the home of live sport for just £25 per month. Get instant access to the BT Sport app, with no contract and no BT broadband required.