Derek McInnes admitted that Hearts have an interest in signing Josh McPake on a pre-contract and have spoken to St Johnstone about the winger.
The Tynecastle head coach (pictured by Nigel Duncan) added that there have been talks between the clubs about the 24-year-old, Coatbridge born player whose contract with the Perth club is understood to run out in the summer.
McPake, who started his career at Rangers, claimed two goals as St Johnstone came from 2-0 down to beat Ayr United at Somerset Park in a televised Championship clash on Friday and McInnes said: “I don’t think it is done yet, but there is an interest.”
The head coach was speaking following the Gorgie club’s 2-0 win over Falkirk in Central Scotland and McInnes conceded that two quality moments separated the pair in testing conditions at the Falkirk Stadium.
Now Hearts have a full week to prepare to face Rangers at Tynecastle next Sunday then they travel across the Capital to play Hibs.
He told Sky Sports: “We have played Celtic and Falkirk and we have dealt with them. We go into the Rangers game fully confident and we are well aware that there are so many challenge in front of us.”
Hearts, he said, had more possession and more shots than the Central Scotland side and added: “We had some good moments in the game but, coming here (to the Falkirk Stadium) against a team in good form it was good just to win. That was a tough fixture anyway, but even tougher in the conditions.”
Looking back to the previous meeting between the clubs this season, a 3-0 win on September 27, and focusing on the latest clash, McInnes said: “These are the type of games where you need to get in and out and get the job done. You don’t need to be brilliant.
“We played Falkirk at Tynecastle. It was a sunny day, and the conditions were perfect. When you come into the winter months these are conditions you have to deal with.”
There were tough moments for Hearts at Falkirk and McInnes said Harry Milne, who came into the game with a thigh strain after passing a fitness test, tidied up what the head coach called “a messy situation” in the first half.
Stephen Kingsley reminded everybody, he said, of how good a player he is with the game-clinching goal late on, and the head coach said: “He served this club well (Falkirk), he serves our club well.”
