Heart of Midlothian

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

Hearts head coach Steven Naismith has been speaking to the media ahead of his side's meeting with St Mirren on Saturday.

Here are the key poitns:

• Lawrence Shankland and Beni Baningime return to the squad after missing last weekend's visit to St Mirren through illness. Craig Halkett, Peter Haring and Liam Boyce are the only players still sidelined due to injury.

• Urges fans to buy tickets for next weekend's Scottish Cup semi-final. Hearts have already sold 17,000 of their initial 21,000 allocation.

• Naismith expects Livingston to carry more of a threat than they did the last time the two clubs met, saying that David Martindale's side are not playing like a team that has accepted relegation.

• He thinks Hearts have made "big progress" and that he has "learned a lot" in his first year in charge. He was appointed interim boss at Tynecastle exactly one year ago on Thursday.

• The Hearts boss will start his Uefa Pro License coaching qualification before the end of this season. The club will not have to list Frankie McAvoy as their official head coach for Uefa competitions next season.

Image source, Getty Images

Why should Scottish football fans care about Czech side Viktoria Plzen drawing with Italian heavyweights Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League?

The result on Thursday night has serious consequences for the Premiership, with the Czech Republic now having leapfrogged Scotland in the coefficient standings.

Not only will the winners of the top flight no longer gain automatic qualification to the Champions League from 2025/26, but there's also a knock on effect for those finishing further down the table.

Here's everything you need to know.

Image source, SNS

• Hearts lost their first two home games against Livingston in the Scottish top-flight back in 2001-02, but are unbeaten in 13 matches against them since (W7 D6).

• A home victory in September 2022 is Livingston's only win in their last 11 league games against Hearts. They have lost both league meetings between the sides this season.

• Hearts are unbeaten in eight home league games (W5 D3). This is their longest unbeaten home run in the Scottish Premiership since November 2021 (10).

• Livingston are winless in their last 14 away league games (D3 L11). Only from September 2018 to August 2019 (18) have they had a longer winless run on their travels in the top-flight.

• Only Dundee (26y 66d) have a younger average starting XI age than Hearts (26y 67d) in the Scottish Premiership this season, whilst Livingston have the oldest (28y 218d).

Hearts forward Lawrence Shankland insists he does not have nightmares about his miss while playing for Scotland in the 4-0 defeat by the Netherlands. (Sun), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip

Hearts conclude their pre-split schedule when they welcome bottom side Livingston on Saturday.

Will Lawrence Shankland return? Pick your preferred XI here.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Scotland

If Saturday’s win in Paisley proved anything, it was Hearts are anything but a one-man team.

The absence of Lawrence Shankland came as a shock when the starting XI was announced, but the way the squad adapted to the loss of their talisman was fantastic for the large travelling support.

Macaulay Tait got another 60 minutes of experience and his replacement Aidan Denholm also played a part in the victory.

But up top Kenneth Vargas, playing a very different style in comparison to Shankland, led the line very well indeed.

Supported by Alan Forrest, the pair were a constant threat to the St Mirren defence.

This week Livingston are the visitors to Tynecastle and with Shankland likely to be back leading the line there are few who would bet against a convincing Hearts win.

But be wary. On their last visit to Tynecastle, the West Lothian outfit proved to be a stubborn lot to break down and, despite Hearts dominating possession and creating numerous opportunities, it was a Vargas strike late on that secured the three points.

It’s also the final league match before a trip to Hampden for an eagerly-awaited Scottish Cup semi-final with Rangers.

One thing for sure is a win this weekend would be the perfect way to prepare for what could be one of the games of their season.

Hearts could face a six-figure bill if they do not sell out their Scottish Cup semi-final allocation with around 5,000 tickets still available for the match against Rangers later this month. (Record), external

Jorge Grant is open to new contract talks at Hearts, with his current deal expiring in the summer of 2025. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip

On today's episode of the Scottish Football Podcast, Liam McLeod is joined by Kenny Miller and Alan Stubbs.

They discuss Sunday's Old Firm thriller and look back on an action-packed Saturday in the Scottish Premiership.

Listen to the episode in full here.

The Sportscene team reflect on Hearts' win in Paisley as Steven Naismith's side picked up their 10th away league of the season.

(Available to UK users only)

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?

Image source, SNS

• 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.

Image source, SNS

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?

We want your views on this afternoon's match.

Get in touch here.

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."

Image source, SNS

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland

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.

Image source, SNS

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

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

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."