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?

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."

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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.

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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

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland

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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

Image source, SNS

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.”