Finlay Pollock picks out 'legend' as Hearts kid hails Raith Rovers loan
The Hearts youngster moved to Stark's Park on loan in September and went on to score six times in 25 appearances for the Kirkcaldy club.
However, his campaign was cut short by a serious hamstring injury sustained in the 1-0 victory over Ayr United in April and he returned to Tynecastle prematurely.
It meant the on-form attacker missed the final four games of the season as Raith fell agonisingly short of landing a shot at promotion through the play-offs.
Despite that bitter disappointment, Pollock looks back fondly on his spell across the Forth in Fife and has detailed the improvements it helped him make to his game.
'They definitely saw my pace,' he said of his time at Raith, where former Jambo Cameron is assistant-manager. 'That's one of my strengths and they saw that I could probably outrun centre-backs in the league, fairly comfortably.
'They always wanted me to stretch the game. They really wanted me to try and utilise my pace as much as possible against these defenders.
'[Colin Cameron] let the rest of the team know that as well. That was sort of the main message for me to do that – and I got a lot of goals out of doing that as well.
'Obviously he [Cameron] is a bit of a legend here [at Hearts]. My whole family know that and my dad reminds me how lucky I was to be with him each day.
'But he taught me on the pitch as well. Even if it was after training when we'd go out for second sessions.
'He just showed me where to be, different positions to keep and to hold and when to run, when to stay, when to come short, when to go long – all these different things.
'That just helped me on the pitch and it just improved me as a whole.'
In an interview with Hearts TV, Pollock added: 'I learned a lot. The Championship was very tight, it was very competitive, very physical.
'So, you've got to adapt when you're on the pitch and use different parts of your body to protect the ball and keep the ball. And learn when to go forward, when to come short, all different aspects like that.
'Just getting a run at games like that helps you to learn and understand.'
With Pollock's season ended prematurely by injury, his focus has turned to next term and successfully completing his lengthy comeback.
'It's touch and go whether I make pre-season,' added the 20-year-old. 'Hopefully I can make sort of mid-July or the end of July. That's the aim, if all goes well, to try and get back for then.
'But I'll need to make sure I'm right before I come back.'
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