Christian Nade: Whether I stay depends on where Hearts are going

The Frenchman confirmed today that he has held tentative contract discussions with Aleksandr Metlitski, Hearts' new sport director, pictured below, but that further talks are essential before he can decide whether his future lies in Edinburgh or elsewhere.

Nade's present deal, signed following his transfer from Sheffield United in 2007, is worth 4000 a week and expires in June.

He is now entitled to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club but stressed that he will consider all offers before reaching a decision.

"The new director talked to me after the Motherwell game and asked me if I wanted to extend my contract," said the striker. "I said we have to talk about this. To stay depends on the contract, the future of the club, what the club wants for next season.

"Do they want to go for first or second place or just want to stay always in the top six? If I have got a good option to go somewhere else, I have to think about it."

Nade's representatives have begun talks with potential suitors of the 25-year-old, although no formal contract offer has been received. "My agent has talked with other clubs but nobody put a contract on the table and said 'sign now'. I have an ambition to maybe try another country, why not? If I have an opportunity to go to a league with a good reputation and a club with ambition, yes."

A perennial frustration for the player during his time at Hearts has been the lone-striker tactic often favoured by those in charge. Deploying one forward has been a constant tactic from Angel Chervenkov's tenure through to Csaba Laszlo's reign.

"I'd like to go where there are two strikers," said Nade. "And somewhere warmer. I think we have got a good team. But I think a club like Rangers or Celtic have a lot of good players, even on the bench. We need a bigger group, more players and good players. I think we need more competition so the team is better.

"I see the coach wanting to bring in another striker, maybe he can and change his tactic and go with two strikers, three strikers. At the start of the season, we started with one striker again and then we have changed it a bit to play with two. We will see what happens next.

"Personally, it is really hard for me to play alone all the time. Being the one in front, in this kind of tactic you have to know you can't play for yourself, you have to play for the team. It's really hard for me to see all the time that I turn and there is nobody else there.

"I can't understand why people wait for me to score more goals, they want me to, but they have to understand it's really hard for me to play alone. When you do, you have to ask for every kind of ball, run for long balls, short balls, wide. You have to cross the ball and, when you do, you can't be in the box at the same time. You have to pass out wide, but you can't then be in the box.

"Hibs have done well this year, with a new manager, new tactic and players. We will have to see if we can have the same position as last season. But we need other players to be better and maybe that is why we are in this position just now. We lost players and that makes it harder for us. We need more competition and we can maybe be better in a couple of months."

On a personal note, Nade's performance in the recent victory over Motherwell was his finest in a maroon shirt. However, he feels he let his standards drop in last weekend's Edinburgh derby.

"I think I played well against Motherwell. Against Hibs, I think I didn't play. My agent called me after the game and just shouted at me. For 26 or 27 minutes, I didn't say one word.

"I'm feeling good right now, I don't know why. Usually, in this kind of weather I can't play."