Heart of Midlothian

We asked for your thoughts as Ross County's away woes continued at Kilmarnock.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Chris: Was worried when I seen Shankland missing, like realising you've left your wallet behind somewhere. But the team done well under awful conditions. 10 away wins for us is incredible achievement and we need find a way to beat Livi next week to cement third place. A team we usually find near impossible to break down.

Colin: The improvement in Hearts away form is superb. But for one mistake, the wrong player as last man, it would have been another clean sheet.

Norrie: A job well done in extremely difficult conditions. Our fans were fantastic.

Andy: The stormy elements put paid to any hopes to either sides hopes had of bringing their A-game! Wasn't a great spectacle but credit to Hearts for finding a way to win in the circumstances and the points tally up to trying to secure third place before the split.

Ian: A good match to win. Still worry about the defence though. Why so many players upfield which led to their goal?

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• Hearts have scored in each of their last five games in the Scottish Premiership, scoring seven goals in that run.

• St Mirren have scored in each of their last six games in the Scottish Premiership, scoring nine goals in that run.

• Alex Cochrane attempted six tackles in this game, more than any other player on either team.

• St Mirren have a record of W1, D5, L11 when conceding the opening goal in the Scottish Premiership this season.

• Hearts have stopped the opposition from scoring a first-half goal in 23 of their 32 games, only Celtic (25) have done this more often in the Scottish Premiership this season.

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In often treacherous conditions, Zander Clark managed to pull off a number of saves - including a crucial low scoop from Toyosi Olusanya - which kept Hearts in the driving seat.

Did you take in the action in Paisley this afternoon or were you following along from elsewhere?

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Hearts head coach Steven Naismith: "The conditions were really poor, they had a big impact on the game. Any time the ball was in the air you were just guessing where it would land.

"I thought we defended really well against a side that deserves to be in the top six. In the moments we could make the right passes we did, we scored probably should have scored more.

"Delighted with a win at a time when we probably had three of our most consistent performers not involved in the squad."

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The celebrations in Paisley were slightly muted, but the main aim for the season has been achieved - back-to-back top-six finishes. It's well-deserved too, as they've hardly been out of the upper half all season.

They might feel hard done to by the first-half penalty decision after a similar incident in the second-half was not overturned in their favour. But St Mirren were much better in the second half.

As for Hearts, no Lawrence Shankland, no problem. While he was in his sick-bed, the third best team in the country proved their credentials once again.

Solid at the back and enterprising up front, Hearts always looked in control.

The next big one for them is the Scottish Cup semi-final with Rangers in fortnight. They'll want their talisman Shankland fit and healthy for that one.

The surprise team news from Paisley is the absence for Hearts of top scorer Lawrence Shankland, who misses his first league game this season.

The Scotland forward, along with Beni Baningime, misses out through illness, with Kye Rowles and Cammy Devlin coming into the line-up.

The home side make three changes to the side that drew with Motherwell last weekend.

In come Richard Taylor, Kwon Hyeok-kyu and Elvis Bwomono to the team, with Mark O'Hara, Ryan Strain and James Bolton dropping to the bench.

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St Mirren: Hemming, Fraser, Gogic, Taylor, Bwomono, Kwon, Boyd-Munce, Tanser, Kiltie, Mandron, Olusanya

Substitutes: Urminsky, Bolton, Dunne, Brown, Baccus, O'Hara, McMenamin, Scott, Ayunga

Hearts: Clark, Kent, Kingsley, Grant, Devlin, Rowles, Forrest, Cochrane, Tait, Vargas, Lembikisa

Substitutes: Gordon, Oda, Atkinson, McKay, Sibbick, Denholm, Fraser, Tagawa, Wilson

• Listen to Sportsound & follow live text coverage from Paisley

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Zander Clark says his wife was his "rock" during the "dark days" of having no club before joining Hearts.

The goalkeeper says Robyn, a midwife, was out doing "proper work" while often sat in the same position all day, but she pushed him to stick to his training and keep fit to earn his place back in a squad.

"She was having to go and do extra shifts as I was probably sitting in the same place on the couch when she went to her work and came back 12 hours later," Clark said. "I was still sitting there with the dishes still round about me.

“She was a rock with me. Encouraging me to go and do the training and make sure I was in good condition. You can quite easily fall into a dark hole. There were dark days when she was at work for three or four days doing 12 hour shifts.

“She is a midwife. She does proper work. She does three 12 hours, four or five some weeks. She was coming in knackered and I had done two sessions of probably an hour and a half.

“It’s only then you realise she was the trooper in the house that was keeping everything together. That was the driving factor for me to go and bring another income into the house.

“When you are on your own, delivering a baby and have two lives at risk there is a lot more pressure there than I will ever face in my life."

James Bolton returned to training on Friday after coming off early in St Mirren’s game against Motherwell last week with a bruised hip and he will be assessed. Ryan Strain recently returned from groin surgery but he picked up a niggle in training earlier in the week and his fitness will be monitored.

Hearts are set to be without Beni Baningime through illness, while Craig Halkett and Peter Haring are still out with knee problems, and Liam Boyce and Calem Nieuwenhof remain sidelined with hamstring issues.

Image source, SNS

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Steven Naismith says contract talks are on hold at high-flying Hearts, but insists the players still have plenty to play for until the end of the season.

The Tynecastle boss has several key players' deals ending in the summer, yet is in no rush to be locked in negotiations while there's still football to be played.

“We will wait until the end of the season. The majority of this stuff will be done behind closed doors but probably in the off-season. There is no rush.

"With the players that are out of contract there will be a decision in the summer made if we are going to renew them or whether they want to move on. All these things will be done at the end of the season when the football stops.”

While Hearts have third place in the Premiership all but wrapped up, the manager is adamant there's more to be achieved for his squad in the final weeks of the campaign.

"If we achieve what we want to in the league before the end of the season, the full focus will be on going as far as we can in the cup.

"Beyond that it’s about how do we get better next season. It doesn’t stop, there's no easing off.

"Individually, the players have got internationals in the summer. We have a lot of boys who want to be in the international set-up and it’s not in my nature to let it drop off.”

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• All discussions regarding new contracts or extensions have been put on hold until the end of the season.

• Believes there are still plenty of incentives for his squad to his aspire to despite their comfy position as best of the rest in the Premiership.

• These include cementing third spot, the chance to contest the Scottish Cup final and earning international call-ups for the summer, especially with the Euros on the horizon.

• Insists his players will not "drop off" their performance levels as it's not in his nature to allow a slump.

• Their focus this week has to be on beating St Mirren in Paisley and "hurting" the teams directly below them in the table.

• Beni Baningime has been suffering with illness and may have to miss Saturday's trip west. Other than that, he says the players are looking fresher after a good week of training.

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• After going unbeaten at home against Hearts in the top-flight between November 2011 and March 2020 (W4 D4), St Mirren have since won just one of their last five such meetings with the Jambos at the SMISA Stadium (D2 L2).

• Hearts won their last meeting with St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership 2-0 in December, and are aiming to beat the Buddies twice in the same league season for the first time since 2021-22, when they won all three of the meetings between the two sides.

• St Mirren have won each of their last three home league games, scoring exactly twice in each win; the Saints last won more such games in a row in October 2022 (four in a row).

• None of Hearts' 15 away games in the Scottish Premiership this season have ended level (W9 L6), the longest stretch of such matches from the beginning of a season by any side since St. Mirren didn’t draw any of their first 16 games on the road in the 2013-14 campaign.

• Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland tops the Scottish Premiership this season for goals (20), points won thanks to goals (18), and percentage of a side’s goals scored (50%).

Hearts only have one win in their last five Scottish Premiership matches, but still sit comfortably in third.

With that in mind, should Steven Naismith make changes to his team?

Tell us your preferred XI here.

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Goalkeeper Michael McGovern has returned to Hearts after a short loan spell at Livingston.

The 39-year-old former Norwich keeper signed when Livi were hit with injuries to Shamal George and Jack Hamilton in January.

McGovern made five appearances for David Martindale's side and although initially joined on loan until the end of the season returns to his parent club.

“Michael came in at a time when we were really struggling with no available first-team goalkeepers due to injuries picked up by both Shamal and Jack,” Livi manager Martindale said.

“With both keepers now back to full fitness and available for selection again, Michael has returned to Hearts for the remainder of the season.

“I want to thank Michael for his time at Livingston and his professionalism whilst here. Seeing him working on a daily basis to the standards he sets made it very evident as to why he has had such a prolonged career at the top level.”

With Hearts having almost secured a third-place finish in the Premiership, it would be easy for everyone to sit back and relax.

However there will be a demand from both Steven Naismith and the club's fans to end the campaign on a positive note.

When you throw in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers looming on the horizon, there is a duty for Hearts to maintain the levels of performance that have brought them this far.

With a number of players entering the final year of their current deals in the summer, and others whose contracts are set to expire, this can be a key part of campaign.

Managers elsewhere are always on the lookout for new recruits, while a good end to this season could mean the difference between a new contract being offered or not.

Having covered Hearts for over 25 years, Tynecastle has always been a place players find difficult to leave.

Even as recently as last weekend, former goalkeeper Gilles Rousset was back at Tynecastle rekindling memories of his six years at the club with the highlight undoubtedly being the cup win over Rangers at Hampden in 1998.

Nowadays it’s rare for players to remain at clubs for that length of time but nevertheless any player who walks into the dressing room is instantly made aware of how special a place it can be.

Even though Hearts have only won once in the last six games in all competitions, it’s hard to be downbeat as we enter the business end of the season.

Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock wasn’t the result that us Jambos wanted, but when you take a step back, it’s a solid point gained.

Derek McInnes’ side have bloodied the nose of the Old Firm on a number of occasions this season, so coming to Tynecastle was never going to faze his team.

That said, we started the game brightly and after Kenneth Vargas’ opener on 10 minutes, had we clinched the second goal soon after, we would have likely dominated the rest of the contest.

Unfortunately that didn’t happen and over the course of 90 minutes, Kilmarnock thoroughly deserved their share of the spoils with Marley Watkins’ equaliser.

Frankie Kent's return in defence was a positive, while there was also a first league start for 18-year-old Macaulay Tait in midfield.

With just seven league games left and an 11-point gap to Kilmarnock, it’s fair to assume Hearts will be competing in European group stages next season – unless Aberdeen throw a spanner in the works by lifting the Scottish Cup.

Yan Dhanda, James Penrice and Blair Spittal will all come in on pre-contract deals in the summer; they are low-risk signings, and provide depth to the squad as the club prepares to deal with the rigours of European competition.

The permanent addition of Kenneth Vargas is also shrewd business. He will only get better, especially when he has the opportunity to bring his family over to stay and build some roots in Gorgie.

There’s been chat in recent days around the re-signing of Beni Baningime for next season and he’s someone who I’d love to see stay. I think a lot of people still forget that he spent 15 months out and is still working his way back up to the form he showed pre-injury.

Of course the deal has to be financially right for both parties, but given how quietly effective the club have been in preparing for next season, I’m optimistic that we will see Baningime return next season.

Greg Playfair can be found on the Oorweechat podcast, external.

Heart of Midlothian will hold end-of-season talks with 14 of their first-team squad whose contracts are due to expire in summer 2025 and, while some will be offered extensions, one or two could be sold before the start of next season. However, the Edinburgh club would want a minimum of £2m to sell left-back Alex Cochrane, who has attracted interest from English clubs. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Midfielder Beni Baningime, whose own contract talks have been shelved until the end of the season, has revealed that Hearts' changing-room has been buzzing at the news that three "great players" - Ross County playmaker Yan Dhanda, Livingston left-back James Penrice and Motherwell midfielder Blair Spittal - will be joining the club this summer. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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