JAMIE Walker is in line to return to the Hearts starting line-up against Rangers next weekend.
The former Scotland Under-21 winger was brought back into the fold for the 1-0 victory at Kilmarnock, having missed the previous two games after it was decided he had been adversely affected by interest from Rangers.
While Walker was an unused substitute on Saturday, Hearts interim boss Jon Daly revealed the 24-year-old will be in contention to take to the field at Ibrox.
“We spoke to Jamie and asked questions of him,” Daly said. “The chat was that his head wasn’t in the right place then, but he’s focused and has trained really well this week. We just need more of the same from him and he’s back in contention for the game against Rangers.”
Kilmarnock and Hearts went into this match on the back of comprehensive defeats at Celtic – 5-0 and 4-1 respectively – but it was the visitors that stormed ahead early on when Esmael Goncalves turned Gordon Greer before burying the ball past Jamie MacDonald.
Shortly after taking the lead, the 1800 travelling Jambos in the Chadwick Stand lit up for a second time, this time for Walker’s first-half warm-up. This reception came as no surprise for Daly.
“Jamie knows what everyone at the club thinks of him – from myself and the coaching staff to the fans,” he said.
“I had planned to get Jamie on the park and I was very tempted.
“We have huge admiration for him. He’s a fantastic footballer who we want at the football club, whether that’s for this year, or beyond. He knows and that will help him.”
The game took a bizarre twist in the 69th minute when referee Stephen Finnie sent off Goncalves and Kirk Broadfoot for an off the ball spat.
The Killie defender was adjudged to have pulled Goncalves’ hair when the pair clashed on the ground, before the Portuguese striker reacted angrily, prompting both to receive their marching orders.
The visitors held out – and should have won by more – to earn Daly his first Scottish Premiership win since taking the reins following Ian Cathro’s sacking.
The former Rangers and Dundee United striker may not get the job full-time, but he insisted that whoever takes charge at Tynecastle next will not be short of quality.
“Of course it’s great to get my first win,” he said. “It’s a fantastic squad. Whoever comes in is going to have a good array of players to pick from.”
Lee McCulloch – lining up in the dugout opposite his former Ibrox team-mate – has now watched his side fall to three consecutive defeats in all competitions, with a relentless Celtic up next.
McCulloch, though, was encouraged by what he witnessed in Saturday’s defeat.
“The goal was disappointing but other than that I thought we played really well,” he said.
“We caused problems all game but lacked that bit of end product in the final third.”
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