Trip to Hearts is ideal way to revitalise Elliott's play

After 22 goals in 55 league starts on Wearside, injuries rendered Elliott a peripheral figure at Wolves and subsequently Preston. His talent and scoring instinct, however, remain undiminished. Irvine describes him as an ideal foil for Kyle as the kind of penalty-box finisher Hearts have been craving.

"That's a partnership which could work out well. Stephen will be a good foil for Kevin Kyle and vice versa. Pairing them together would make sense," Irvine, pictured, told the Evening News. "Stephen isn't old, he's got plenty years ahead of him. I think, once he starts playing on a regular basis, the goals will come back.

"He'll score most of his goals inside the penalty box. He's got good movement and wants to go in behind defenders. He isn't a target man because his strength is facing the goal rather than with his back to goal. He is sharp around the box, he's not lightning quick but he will run in behind centre-backs and he is prepared to work.

"I think Scotland might well suit him even more than England. I know I'm biased but I like the way the Scottish game is played and I think he'll enjoy playing in that style of football. He could be very effective there.

"He definitely needs to go and play. He hasn't played enough football since he left Sunderland for Wolves. That's for various reasons. Partly it's due to injuries, although not major ones. Just problems that have come up at the wrong time which have stopped him playing. No footballer can thrive unless they're playing regularly. If Stephen gets in and stays fit he can be very effective for Hearts."

The last of Elliott's international appearances came in September 2006 as Ireland lost a European Championship qualifier to Germany. Presently he is some way off Giovanni Trapattoni's radar, and not just because the Italian is currently hospitalised with suspected food poisoning. Irvine believes a regular SPL goal haul would recapture the attention of the Irish FA.

"Stephen has been there before with Ireland and history shows that people who have been there before will always be considered for future squads. The only thing that might work against him is that he was in the Irish squad before Trapattoni took over. He may not be aware of Stephen but, if he's scoring goals, I'm guessing the Irish scouts will notice that and give him a chance to get back in.

"Ireland have some very talented players but they don't have them in abundance. Anyone who is doing well in Scotland or England will have a chance of getting close to that squad."

Having watched Elliott toil when out of position at Wolves and out of favour at Preston, Irvine is keen to see him feature regularly as a central striker for Hearts. "What he needs now is a run of football without any injury problems," continued the Scot.

"I signed Stephen because I was aware of him when he was at Sunderland and Wolves. Mick McCarthy thought very highly of him and signed him for both Sunderland and Wolves. Unfortunately things didn't work out for Stephen at Wolves. I think, because of the quality of the other strikers they had, he was forced to play wide right. That's not his favourite position. He wants to be a striker, someone who plays on the edge of the last line.

"Mick spoke in glowing terms about him so he came to Preston and started quite brightly. Then he got an injury, which allowed others to get ahead of him like Jon Parkin, Neil Mellor and Chris Brown. Again, he found himself down the pecking order and it becomes a vicious circle. He found it difficult because he wasn't getting time on the pitch.

"He had some very good games for Preston, notably when we went back to Wolves and he scored two goals in a 3-0 win. He has quality and can certainly score goals. Last summer he picked up an ankle injury and missed most of pre-season. Because of that he found himself behind the other strikers in the queue, so he's been a bit unfortunate."

The move to Tynecastle may just prompt a change in Elliott's fortunes. Irvine certainly hopes so.