DC92

Listened back to the end of the game on Sportsound there. Richard Gordon asks whether Hearts can sustain this run of clawing back points from behind and scoring late winners. Before tonight we'd only managed one single point from a losing position and had scored one late winner all season.

Tait is a player.

Thankfully I don't tune in all that often these days, but the idea that Preston's shrieking is limited to home goals at Tynecastle is a definite myth. I've always found his "excitement" levels generally just reflect the game, even if the away team at Tynecastle is giving us a doing. I bet if you searched Kickback you'd find a dozen threads calling him a w**k with an agenda against the club for this reason. The reality is he's just irritating to listen to.

I remember him coming across as a bit of an arsehole in Paulo Sergio's unveiling press conference. Obviously if he was Hibs it would have automatically been put down to that.

Scott Fraser on loan apparently. I'm pretty sure Levein tried to sign him a few years ago which doesn't bode well. I've barely seen him play/can't remember him but he feels a bit "Andrew Shinnie".

Hibs' current showing is definitely putting ours into perspective.

We've somehow managed to palm off Andy Halliday, Jordan Roberts and Conor Sammon onto them in recent years. Don't give up hope.

Lembikisa looked good when he came on. I'll leave it at that.

I think our entire squad of 20 has 10 goals between them this season.

The report I read suggested Hearts decided to send him back early. He's been pretty poor but it's a bit surprising unless we've got someone lined up. ETA:

I was surprised to read in Hearts Standard that he'd only started 3 league games. Then I checked and saw he'd actually started 10. Maybe they're only counting the games where he kicked a ball. With Halliday and Lowry going you'd like to think we've got somebody lined up. We definitely need someone to fill the creative void with McKay out.

The VAR controversy well has run a bit dry over the winter break so they'll be delighted to fill another 45 minutes with Shankland to Rangers chat.

I see there are rumours that Shankland is ill and will miss the game tomorrow. Great news for Kenny Macintyre and the Sportsound lads if so. I'm more worried about whether we'll be able to score without him.

Slightly surprised at how positive the response to this is. He's had a couple of good games recently, but overall I'd say he's been a frustrating player with very little end product. He scored 2 goals in 40+ games in 2023 and, up until he got a couple against Livi, he hadn't registered a single assist in 68 appearances for us. I know there will be a lot of sub appearances in there, but that's not a good return. Maybe it makes sense to tie him down in case the last couple of games were the start of a Gino-esque transformation in the second half of the season. Maybe it just makes sense to keep a player who probably doesn't cost much and is a willing runner. I won't get upset about it regardless, but it's a "meh" from me on what we've seen so far.

That's probably about right. A good finisher, but goes missing in a midfield two. Might be better in a three, where he can roam about more, but we didn't see much of him there. I'd say he showed his best form for us at left-wing-back. Almost completely out of the picture since Naismith came in, even when we had a midfield injury crisis in August and we're chucking defenders in there.

Rotherham fans didn't rate him but this two-minute highlight reel calls him a dream full-back for clubs so I don't know what to think.

McKay has missed basically the whole season so far and Lowry has been poor, so I'm not particularly surprised we're interested in Dhanda. I would be surprised if we're willing to pay what Ross County will want to get him this month, though.

A lot of things can change with 8 games to go.

There used to be a Hearts poster on here by that name who had a penchant for sticking a Celticy "h" into various team/player names, so the swear filter was amended accordingly. Bit of a blast from the past.

Barrie McKay out for 2 months. It never ends. Could really do with another creative option in the window. Lowry isn't doing it.

Regardless of the specifics of the current handball guidance, it's baffling to me that people think what Sima did there should be a foul, or even close to it. It's also baffling to me that people apparently want more tedious discussion on refereeing decisions.

It would definitely be a failure, just as it was when it actually happened last year. If we win the next two, I can't see anyone catching us. If we drop points against Dundee and lose to Aberdeen then we'll be right back in the mix and the pressure will be back on Naismith. Far from impossible given our home displays this season.

I know Atkinson has improved a lot defensively but he's not technically good enough to be a starter imo. First touch, passing, crossing, shooting all too erratic. I'd be looking for better than just cover/competition. Striker and CM probably the other obvious areas for cover/improvement. Tagawa and Nieuwenhof haven't made the desired impact.

I think Aberdeen are the main ones to keep an eye on. A squad which could come good and 3 games in hand. They'll be doing well to take maximum points in winter midweek games at St Johnstone and Dundee though. Kilmarnock are a decent side and have points on the board. Maybe don't win against non-OF teams consistently enough. Hibs have a game in hand but have also only played Rangers once. They'll need some major changes in January I think.

25 points from the last 33 available is an excellent return considering that includes both Old Firm teams as well as Aberdeen, Hibs and Killie away. The first two league games after the break are massive. If we can get 6 points from those then we'll be in a much more commanding position than we were at any point last season. What we can't afford is a repeat of last January where we rested on our laurels because recent results were good. There are flaws in the team which need addressing if we're going to see it out. Hopefully lessons have been learned.