Heart of Midlothian

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• Hearts are winless in four league meetings with Kilmarnock (D2 L2), losing their past two in a row.

• Kilmarnock have only lost one of their past 10 Scottish Premiership games away to Hearts (W6 D3), a 3-1 defeat in December 2022.

• Hearts have kept a clean sheet in their past three league games, as many as their previous 22 beforehand. Not since January 2018 have Hearts gone longer without conceding in the Premiership (seven games).

• Kilmarnock are winless in six away league outings (D2 L4), with their last such win coming in October at Hearts (2-1).

• Only Celtic (345) have recorded more pressed sequences in the league this season than Hearts (307), while only Celtic (188) and Rangers (180) have forced more high turnovers than the Tynecastle side (153).

Brann have reached an agreement with Hearts for the transfer of midfielder Sander Kartum and the 29-year-old Norwegian is expected to travel to Edinburgh for a medical before a move said to be worth £320,000. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription), external

Hearts midfielder Macaulay Tait, 19, is set to join Livingston on loan. (Hearts Standard), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip

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A conversation with former Hearts midfielder Peter Haring helped seal Michael Steinwender's move to Tynecastle.

The 24-year-old Austrian has joined the Gorgie side on a three-and-a-half-year deal from IFK Varnamo in Sweden's top flight.

The defender's agent was a team-mate of Haring at Rapid Vienna and also played alongside former ex-Hearts player Donis Avdijaj at Hartberg.

"They only said good things about the club," Steinwender told HeartsTV. "And when I heard about the fans and the crowd, I was very excited to come here."

On what he feels he can bring to the team, the centre-back, who is available for this weekend's match with Kilmarnock, added: "I would say my attributes are I like to defend.

"I like headers, I like to talk a lot with my people and try to help everybody. That's how I am. And I have the attribute to be very fast."

Steinwender "almost got goosebumps" on a tour of Hearts' facilities, adding: "It's impressive. The stadium and then also in Oriam, they have everything. In my old club, it was not like that.

"I can't wait to step my first foot into the stadium and play a game. I'm very excited to be here and very happy."

Greg Playfair
Fan writer

They say all that matters in cup competition is you progress to the next stage, although for 13 minutes up in Brechin the idea of Hearts reaching the fifth round seemed far from certain.

After Scott Bright's wonder strike, away supporters feared they were going to see a cup shock against Highland League opposition in person for the first time, after Covid restrictions saved us from witnessing the defeat to Brora Rangers four years ago.

Thankfully, Yan Dhanda equalised just before half-time to save our blushes and our voices from going hoarse from a cacophony of booing. We then really took control in the second half and eventually ran out 4-1 winners thanks to an own goal and a double from new frontman Elton Kabangu.

We face a fifth-round trip to Paisley to take on St Mirren in a match that could very well go all the way to penalties.

If you want a lucky omen, the last time we lifted the Scottish Cup, in 2012, we defeated the Buddies en route to Hampden after defeating non-league opposition in Auchinleck Talbot in the fourth round. That means games against Celtic and Hibs to follow!

Of course, we need to keep the blinkers on and Derek McInnes' Kilmarnock are our next obstacle in our bid to finally leave 11th place in the table.

Simply put, this game is a must win. While victory could lift us as high as seventh, a defeat coupled with a Ross County win versus Hibs could see us three points adrift in that relegation play-off spot.

We may even see a new face or two this weekend, with Norwegian creative midfielder Sander Kartum seemingly set to arrive.

Kartum is likely to play as a number 10 and favours his left foot. If he can be even as half as successful as our last playmaker with a wand of a left foot, Rudi Skacel, he'll be a hit.

Forward Elton Kabangu, 26, does not want to finish this term "with only two" after scoring his first Hearts goals in Friday's 4-1 Scottish Cup win over Brechin City and promises "more". (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription), external

Read Monday's Scottish gossip

We asked for your views on Hearts' 4-1 win against Brechin.

Here's what some of you said:

Derek: Dodgy pitch was a real leveller, but it was a good performance in the end. Yan Dhanda looked like a man with a point to prove, and got a deserved goal, and Elton Kabangu looks a good shout for the rest of the season. Jorge Grant was unlucky, James Wilson was class, but Cammy Devlin and James Penrice outshone everyone. Not a finished article, but signs that we're improving.

Jim: Brilliant opener from Brechin and equaliser from Dhanda. Fitness told in the end and Hearts ran out comfortable winners. However, even this game still showed that Hearts lack a creative midfielder who can run with the ball and that they are severely weak upfront. For me, Kenneth Vargas can get on the first plane back to Costa Rica - he's useless!

Alan: A real Jekyll and Hyde performance from Hearts. The first half an hour we were absolutely awful, the second half we played some good stuff, good attacking play especially down the left side. This team shows they can turn it on when they want to. Big Elton knows the game and knows the way to goal. His physicality will cause teams a lot of problems.

Jimbo: At last something seems to be slowly happening with the team, they're not leaking goals, this team now needs time to play together and with more possible additions, belief and confidence from the players will come. The league is tight but I'm hopeful we can climb the table into the top six. Silly points dropped previously could hurt us though.

Steve: First half was a blood and guts cup tie, narrow heavy pitch didn't help. Craig Halkett and Kabangu were standouts. Good to see Wilson coming on as substitute, as at this point he's not a 90 minute player. Big question marks about our midfield, that's where we need new faces. Just relieved we got through this round.

John: Not the best performance but job done on a poor pitch against a physical side. Excellent goal from Dhanda, showing hunger. Hopefully the floodgates will open for Kabangu. Vargas trying to claim that goal is embarrassing. He's an imposter and needs moved on.

Hearts are pursuing Sander Kartum as they look to add an attack-minded midfielder to their squad, with Norwegian side SK Brann willing to sell the 29-year-old. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read the rest of Sunday's Scottish gossip.

Hearts head coach Neil Critchley reacts to his side's 4-1 Scottish Cup win over Brechin City with Sportscene's Jonathan Sutherland, Darren Dods and Craig Levein.

Hearts came from behind to ease past Highland League side Brechin City and progress to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.

First-half substitute Scott Bright fired Brechin in front with a magnificent 35-yard strike in what was his second game for the Angus club.

Neil Critchley's side appeared to struggle with the conditions and it took another wonder goal to get Hearts level before the break as Yan Dhanda curled beyond Lenny Wilson.

Hearts took the lead early in the second half when Elton Kabangu floated a dangerous cross into the hosts' penalty area and defender Kevin McHattie's attempted clearance carried the ball towards goal as Kenneth Vargas attempted to get the final touch.

Kabangu scored his first Hearts goals with a tidy finish and a conversion off James Wilson's inch-perfect pass.

Hearts fans, were you at the game or following the action from home? Either way we want to know what you made of the performance.

Have your say, external

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Hearts manager Neil Critchley: "It's job done. It was a good goal from Yan Dhanda, that settled us down.

"Scoring soon into the second half settled us down, we played some nice football. We've done the job and we're into the next round.

"It was a great strike [from Scott Bright] but up until that we'd been doing OK in the game. The longer it goes at 1-0 the nerves and anxiety grows, we needed that moment of quality to get us back in the game.

"You have to stay calm and composed, the players need you. They need my support, you look to the staff around you and make sure you're giving appropriate advice to the players.

"It takes a little bit of time, that extra bit of physicality, to wear them down. That's not going to look the same in the first 20 minutes, you have to work for that. You're playing a little bit tighter, that inhibits you a little bit. Once we settled down, remembered how to play good football we started to make things more comfortable for ourselves.

"We weren't good enough against Hibs that day [during Boxing Day defeat] but there had been signs before and after that that we're improving.

"We've got a lot to do, we're not where we want to be. We want to breed that winning habit, a cup run would help.

"A couple of singings have helped, refreshed the group and that'll be important for the second half of the season."

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Elton Kabangu scored twice and set up another in his first start for Hearts this season.

Hearts lead Brechin City for the first time in the Scottish Cup.

Scott Bright scores a stunning opener in to give Highland League Brechin City a surprise lead over Scottish Premiership Hearts in their Scottish Cup fourth round tie.

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Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay has revealed the role Jamestown Analytics plays in the club's recruitment process.

The Tynecastle club announced a much-celebrated deal with the company in November, allowing "exclusive" Scottish access to player data services.

Jamestown also have agreements with Premier League side Brighton and Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise, and while valuable, McKinlay insists it is only one part of a larger set-up.

"It's important to make it very clear that the Jamestown piece is a part of the process - it is not the entire recruitment process, I think people misunderstand that," McKinlay told Hearts TV.

"The way it works is that Jamestown have a massive database which has been built over years and is continually updating itself, and it has an ability to tell us how players rate or how they would rate if they were playing in the Scottish Premiership.

"To give an example, we would have gone to Jamestown for this window saying we're looking for a centre-back. That gets fed to Jamestown and they then come back with some options based on their analysis. That is pretty much the beginning and end of what they do.

"We then do our own diligence on those players - the character, whether they'll fit into our squad, we'll do some references. What analytics cannot do is give you a view on the personality of a player. It's then for our team to do that and do negotiations."

Hearts have made two signings in the January window so far, with forward Elton Kabangu arriving on loan from USG and defender Jamie McCart signing from Rotherham on a deal until 2029.

"In relation to both of them, we would have said the type of centre-back and we forward we wanted, and [Jamestown] came back with options for us," McKinlay added.

"Those two were both very high in those options and ones the coaching staff were very excited by. They were both fairly straightforward deals to do. I was delighted we had them there ready as the window opened.

"I'm expecting us to do one or two more in this window, and any more than that may depend on movement the other way."

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

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The luck, or bad luck, of the draw means not too many lower league sides have home ties that immediately suggest a Scottish Cup shock could be on the cards, but a few still jump out in the fourth round.

Those include Brechin City against Hearts, which is live on BBC Scotland and online on Friday evening (Kick-off 19:45 GMT)

Considering Highland League leaders Brechin were in the senior leagues until relegation in 2021, it is perhaps surprising that the sides have only met in three previous cup ties, with Hearts prevailing each time, once after a replay.

The current side led by former Hibs midfielder Patrick Cregg have struggled a bit to reach the fourth round for the first time since 2018, when they were in the Championship.

Two single-goal home wins - over Newtongrange Star, of the East of Scotland League, and Highland rivals Huntly - took Brechin through the first two rounds before they needed extra time to overcome Lowland League hosts Cowdenbeath 4-1.

However, they are in pole position to win the Highland League for the second time, leading by two points from Brora Rangers, and have gone 11 games without defeat at home.

Eight-time cup winners Hearts will arrive in better mood than when the draw was made, Neil Critchley's side having lifted themselves off the bottom of the Premiership after four games without defeat.

However, having struggled to beat League 2 side Spartans 2-1 away from home at the same stage last season, last season's beaten semi-finalists will be aware of the dangers.

Read Scottish Cup preview in full.

Goalkeeper Zander Clark's new contract at Heart of Midlothian will have no bearing on the future of 42-year-old current Scotland number one Craig Gordon at Tynecastle, according to head coach Neil Critchley. (The Scotsman), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Neil Critchley revealed Hearts are closing in on a new defender as Michael Steinwender prepares to join the club.

The Tynecastle side are looking to strengthen their centre-back options following long-term injuries to Stephen Kingsley and Frankie Kent and the exit of Kye Rowles to DC United this week.

Hearts have agreed a fee with Swedish club IFK Varnamo to sign Austrian defender Steinwender, with the 24-year-old expected to finalise his move to Edinburgh over the next week.

"Close, close, yeah," Critchley said of the move for a new defender. "We're talking to someone, we're pursuing something, but nothing's done.

"Until it is, I won't be going any further speaking about that. I'm not going to mention his name because that would be wrong."

Hearts have already signed Belgian forward Elton Kabangu and defender Jamie McCart this month.

They have been linked with a move for 25-year-old Kazakhstan winger Islam Chesnokov, who plays for Tobol Kostanay in his homeland, but Critchley said: "No, that's not close (to being completed).

"We get linked with numerous players during January. We're doing a lot of work behind the scenes. We're speaking about a lot of players.

"We've identified areas of the pitch we want to bring players in. Obviously, there's two weeks of the window to go, so let's see where we are in 14 days' time."

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland at Oraim

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In May 2012 Neil Critchley was nearing the final year of his long association with Crewe before a move to Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool coaching staff.

Roughly 240 miles north, Hearts were hammering Edinburgh rivals Hibernian to lift the Scottish Cup.

That famous day at Hampden remains Hearts' last triumph in the competition and is fondly retold by many in maroon. Including kitman Gordon Paterson.

So while Critchley may not have been fully aware of the glory day at the time, he is well aware of its importance and legacy now.

"The kitman will always go back to 2012 and a result in the final which is very popular around here," Critchley said as he previewed his first game in the competition on Friday night against Brechin City, live on BBC Scotland.

"You feel it, you see it, people talk about it. This is a proud, traditional club that's built on history, certain values, and that's what we have to uphold every day.

"The way you behave, the way you act, the way the team plays – I'm very aware of that and I'll do everything I can to make sure the supporters can see a team they can be proud of on the pitch."

It's a tight pitch at Glebe Park and Critchley - who was the "wee guy" nearing a top-flight scalp last year when his Blackpool side took Nottingham Forest to a replay - is anticipating a tricky tie against the Highland League leaders.

"We're in good form, but so are they," the head coach added. "They've only lost once in the league all season and that breeds a confidence and an expectation from themselves about winning games, it becomes a habit. We're under no illusions of the task in front of us.

"They're better than the standard they're playing at. If you only lose one game all season at this stage, it suggests that."