McGowan pens bumper new contract with Jambos

HIGHLY-RATED Hearts defender Ryan McGowan has been handed a new deal by the club that will keep him at Tynecastle for the next five years.

The Australian had two years remaining on his previous contract, but his displays in the under-19s and reserve teams have persuaded the club to rip that up and reward him with an extension on improved terms.

The new deal caps a good couple of weeks for the youngster who was on the substitutes' bench for Hearts' last match, away to Kilmarnock, while he was also recently named the club's under-19 Player of the Year.

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McGowan, 19, has yet to make a competitive first-team appearance for Hearts, although interim head coach Stephen Frail has said he is in contention for an appearance during the SPL run-in once he recovers from a knee injury.

McGowan's agent, Lou Sticca, told the Evening News: "Ryan has been at the club for a few seasons and has done really well.

"My partner in the UK, Dave McPherson, tells me that Ryan is very close to the first team and Dave is naturally a very good judge of what it takes.

"He rates Ryan as capable of going a long way in the Scottish game, so I'm delighted for Ryan.

"I think the length of the contract shows that Hearts see a lot of potential in him. I know that he was on the bench last week and that he has a chance of playing in the first team before the end of the season.

"If that happens it happens but if it doesn't he has time on his side because he's young, strong and ambitious."

Meanwhile, Frail today warned his players they are playing for their futures during the club's final five matches of the season,