Gary Mackay: Fans should be basking in joy of six clean-sheet wins

Six clean-sheet victories in seven games is a record that simply can't be underestimated.

For me, this is comfortably the best period the club has had since that amazing run under George Burley at the start of the 2005/06 season and we should be milking it for all it's worth.

These type of runs don't come along very often for teams outwith the Old Firm so we should really appreciate what we're getting from the team at the moment. If we can keep it going against a really good Motherwell side, which we're more than capable of doing, it will just make this run all the more incredible.

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Make no mistake, Saturday was a real banana-skin game for us because of our poor home record. With Hamilton having been struggling, there was always a chance the players may have let their standards slip, but they deserve all the credit going for the way they got the job done professionally against the league's bottom team. They are generating an incredible winning mentality, but the interesting thing will be when we eventually lose the opening goal. That will be a big test because we've got in the habit of not conceding, but the belief they can win every game will hopefully see them through.

There will be a real air of invincibility around the players at the moment, particularly given that this run includes a win over one of the Old Firm.

The manager will ensure the players don't get carried away, but we as supporters should really be enjoying this period as Hearts are probably the form team in Britain at the moment.

As Chelsea are showing at the moment, good runs don't last forever at any club so you've got to appreciate them when they come along.

Under Csaba Laszlo the one thing we were renowned for was being tight at the back. We had lost that stability for a while around the time of Celtic and Falkirk away earlier in the season when we were shipping goals left, right and centre, but we've rediscovered that solidity and the defensive unit has been close to faultless in recent weeks.

The encouraging thing about this run is that we've done it without our forwards firing on all cylinders, with David Templeton and Rudi Skacel instead taking on the bulk of the goalscoring responsibility in the past few games. I don't think Kevin Kyle and Stephen Elliott have really got going yet in terms of scoring, but when they eventually hit their rich vein of form it'll be another area for goals to come from.

It's a massive thing to have genuine goal threats like that in different areas of the team because it means that the opposition can't just identify one or two players for special attention. When Andy Driver and Lee Wallace eventually get fit again, we are going to have a frightening array of options.

Motherwell this weekend will be a big test. Along with Kilmarnock, Motherwell are the team that have really caught my eye this season so I'm expecting a really good game through at Fir Park. They've dipped a wee bit in recent weeks, as all teams do at some stage in the season, but the great thing for Hearts is that confidence levels could barely be higher than they are right now.

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The consistency of selection is massive and it seems like it's even the same subs each week. You're now just praying that we can steer clear of injuries and suspensions so we can keep sending out the same team and picking up such excellent results.

I've always said I like to wait until the end of November to see how the league is shaping up so I'll be looking to make some kind of judgement about Hearts' prospects for the season when we return from Fir Park, hopefully with another three points and a clean sheet in the bag.

Cruickshank worthy legend

The word legend is bandied around far too often for my liking these days but Jim Cruickshank is one man worthy of such an accolade. Cruicky, who passed away on Friday, was a true Hearts legend who will be sadly missed.

When I was a representative of the club, I was fortunate enough to go to his house to ask him if he wanted to attend the Hall of Fame dinners. He had moved on in life from Hearts and didn't feel he wanted to come along, a decision which I fully understood, but it was clear from meeting him that he was a real gentleman and a family man who had simply moved on from football.

He was a wonderful goalkeeper - along with Donald Ford, Cruicky was the top player in the team that I grew up watching in the early 70s. They were the two guys that I looked upon from that time as real legends. I seem to recall quite a few Hearts fans named their cats 'Cruicky' because he was a bit like a cat in the sense that he was so athletic and agile. His ability to save penalties was particularly memorable.

He was the one that started off the amazing run of fabulous keepers Hearts have had and he is certainly the top keeper we've ever had in my eyes. I thought the way Marian Kello and the club in general paid tribute to the great man on Saturday was magnificent. My thoughts go out to his wife and family.

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