Eddie Howe reveals Newcastle United view on Garang Kuol's situation at Heart of Midlothian

That’s the view of Eddie Howe as Kuol, still adjusting to his move from Australia, pushes to return to the pitch between now and the end of the season.

Kuol, signed from Central Coast Mariners midway through the season, was loaned to Heart of Midlothian in January for first-team experience.

The 18-year-old – who made his A-League breakthrough last year – was tipped to star in the Scottish Premiership after making two appearances for Australia at the World Cup in Qatar.

However, Kuol has only started one game for Hearts, and he hasn’t featured for the club, which sacked manager Robbie Neilson last month, since March 11.

And Howe addressed Kuol’s situation ahead of Sunday’s Premier League home game against Arsenal.

“I think, whenever you loan a player, you hope they play every game, for a striker, they score loads of goals, they return in a brilliant mental place,” said United's head coach.

“Part of going on loan is that you don’t know what’s going to happen. They have to earn everything they get.

“Sometimes, through a disappointing loan, you can actually respond and learn things about yourself which makes the loan really beneficial. So I’d never look at it as a huge negative.

“But, of course, the loan probably hasn’t gone as we’d have hoped.”

Interim Hearts manager Steven Naismith spoke about Kuol's situation last week.

Naismith told the Evening News: “Like I’ve done with so many other players, I sat down and had a chat with him.

“I told him ‘first of all, I understand you’ve moved halfway round the world. At 18, you’ve moved to one club – and went on loan to another club. You have all this pressure on you deliver. That’s a lot to deal with, so let’s strip it back. You firstly need to get to the point where you’re just enjoying it – and you're learning'.

“Since I’ve been in this role, he has shown a willingness to learn and I’ve seen improvement – more with off-the-ball stuff.

“Over the last couple of weeks I’ve seen a big difference, and his reactions are much better now.

“We do sympathise with him. I’ve enjoyed working with him, and I think he’ll be a good player in years to come. He just needs to keep learning.”

Kuol played two games for Australia in late March.