Kye Rowles would rather have signed off for 2023 with a victory but accepts that the manner of the fightback against Ross County in earning a 2-2 draw shows the team has all the right credentials to be successful.

The Jambos trailed 2-0 against an impressive Staggies oufit midway through the second half before goals from substitute Kenneth Vargas and man-of-the-moment Lawrence Shankland rescued a point at Tynecastle. Clearly missing the fatigued Beni Baningime in midfield and struggling from a hangover from Wednesday’s derby triumph against Hibs, history may prove that a point against a refreshed County, idle for two gameweeks due to postponements, may be a success story.

“It wasn't ideal, not how we wanted it to go down but to come back from two goals down shows the character we have in the group,” said centre-half Rowles. “But overall it was a disappointing performance. It has been a tough schedule – everyone has the same to deal with – but it took a while for us and the second goal was the wake-up call for us that unfortunately we needed, until we started playing with that bit of urgency that we needed at the start of the game.

Rowles is hoping to land silverware with the Socceroos in Qatar.

"The heads could have easily dropped. The boys did well to rally round and get going. Once the first goal went in, we could feel the momentum building. Maybe in the last ten minutes, we could have had a bit more patience and picked the right chance, because I think one more goal would definitely be the decider. It was a good fightback."

This was Rowles’ last Hearts match for a number of weeks. The 24-year-old jetted off to Qatar in the early hours of New Year’s Day to report for international duty with Australia. The Socceroos are one of the principal candidates for the Asian Cup, which is being hosted from January 12 until February 10. Rowles, alongside club-mate Nathaniel Atkinson, could miss up to seven club matches depending on Australia’s progress. Graham Arnold’s men are in a group with India, Uzbekistan and Syria and are expected to go deep in the competition.

"I'm very excited,” said Rowles. “It's another major tournament and just to be selected for your country is an amazing thing. Like any tournament, you want to go to win. I think we'll probably be up there with the countries that are expected to win. We want to go as far as we can. It would be great to lift a trophy. I've not been able to lift one in my career so far. We'll see how we go.”

Rowles has little doubt that Hearts will cope without him. “It'll be bittersweet [being away] but hopefully we [Australia] can go on a long run,” said Rowles. “I have full faith in all the [Hearts] boys. We've got everyone pretty much coming back now and this little free time in January is a nice healthy block for the boys in the physio room to get back out. The ranks should be stocked up again.”

Hearts' Kye Rowles and Zander Clark walk off following the 2-2 draw with Ross County.

When Rowles returns, he will hope to be greeted by a familiar face in Lawrence Shankland. The striker is in a rich vein of form and as a result, his future is being heavily discussed amid interest from several clubs. "Yeah, probably!” Rowles laughed when asked if he’d be checking his phone nervously from Qatar. “But that's none of my business, I'll try my best to distance myself and focus on the games with Australia.”

Hearts' Kye Rowles jets off for Australia duty with a couple of big wishes