The 'soft' Hearts factor that has been fixed this season as Alex Cochrane names what won't be allowed to occur

Hearts closed in on third with a 2-1 win at St Mirren on Saturday.

The Hearts defender has shared what has changed this season.

Alex Cochrane reckons Hearts have sorted out their soft centre and built a steely foundation to secure third spot.

The left-back made a telling difference in Saturday’s 2-1 win over St Mirren, whipping a corner into the back that was eventually ruled as Mikael Mandron’s own goal. It means fourth-placed Kilmarnock remain 11 points behind the third-spot side with one game to go pre-split, after Jorge Grant scored the opener.

Steven Naismith’s side have grown in strength throughout the season and Cochrane believes the team have made sure a soft touch criticism has been ironed out, and in its place has come toughness with desire not to let this season fade. He said: "I think it is something we have definitely improved on from last season. I think last season there were times you could say we were a little bit soft and goals would be too easy.

“I think this year we have a bit of resilience about us and we fight for each other a little bit more. We know coming here third is not secure. We want to get more points on the board and push further away from Kilmarnock and the rest of the teams. We know there are still a lot of games to play and there's a semi-final to look forward to as well.

“We mentioned just before the game in a meeting, if we win this game third is closer for us. We still know there is football to be played and we won't take our foot off the gas, we've got a semi-final and six league games. We don't want the season to peter out like it has in previous seasons. We want to win as many games as we can. “

Storm Kathleen meant the conditions were wild and windy in Paisley. It was some of the most difficult the left-back has had to deal with and with a physical St Mirren side to deal with, he’s pleased with how he and his teammates stood up to the test.

Cochrane said: "It was definitely up there. All game you see Zander kick the ball and it spins back into your final third. I feel we managed the conditions well and we know it's a tough place coming here let alone those conditions. I think overall we managed the game well and it's a good three points to take.

“They've got some big, big players in their squad. And tricky players as well. You just have to stand up to it and fight. Everyone who played in a defensive position was good and even set pieces everyone was good and solid.”

Away form is something that has been a thorn in Hearts sides previously, but Saturday’s result made it 10 victories on the road this Premiership campaign. No superstitious fixes have been applied but it was something discussed last summer.

Cochrane added: “It was spoken about at the start of the season. We knew last season wasn't good enough away from home. You see the fans, they turn up in their numbers for the away games. I think that's 10 away wins, a good return.

“There are still some away games where we could have done better but we knew last year our away form wasn't good enough so we set out to make sure this year was better. I can't really put my finger on what it was last year but I think this year we've gone about our business, home and away, the same way.

“At the start of the season the manager said our away form last season wasn't good enough. When you go to away games you need to grind out results and sometimes put on a show for the away fans because they come in their numbers, pay their money. This season we have done that better than last season.”