Mackay hails young blood for Hearts' rise

Gordon Smith, 18, netted on his first start as Hearts extended an unbeaten run to five matches when they drew 1-1 at Easter Road on Sunday.

Fellow teenagers Scott Robinson and Craig Thomson have also established themselves along with 20-year-old David Templeton.

Evening News columnist Mackay believes they have given the team a new lease of life to take them within four points of fourth-placed Dundee United in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

Mackay, who made the first of his 640 Hearts appearances as a 16-year-old, said: "Craig Thomson, until his injury, had been as consistent as anybody this year.

"The boy Robinson has come in, Gordon Smith came in, Templeton has come in and they have just freshened it up and given a different impetus to the team.

"They are not the finished articles yet but they have given the guys around about them a lift."

Hearts face a tough test of their improved form when they face Aberdeen at Pittodrie in the fourth round of the Active Nation Scottish Cup on Saturday.

The Dons won 1-0 at Dundee United on Saturday to move back into the top half of the SPL, and Mackay added:

"I watched Aberdeen on Saturday and in the first half they showed a lot of the qualities that Motherwell showed at the start under Mark McGhee.

"So it will be a really difficult game for Hearts."