Gary Mackay: Stand green light beats any on-field victory

It was great to get another victory on Saturday, but the big news of the week for me was that Hearts were officially given the all-clear to remain at Tynecastle and build the new main stand.

The main stand at Tynecastle will be demolished and rebuilt at a cost of £12 million

That, for me, was as big a result as anything that’s happened on the pitch recently.

We’re often obsessed with the here and now, but for a football club to prosper, there has to be real long-term thinking. In that regard, after so much uncertainty over the last decade and more, the news that we’re definitely staying at our spiritual home, which is steeped in history, for the foreseeable future is massive. Guys of my age and older have so many special memories from being inside Tynecastle over the decades and I’m thrilled that the younger generation are now guaranteed to have the chance to enjoy their own experiences for years to come in this amazing place that Hearts call home.

Make no mistake, Tynecastle is a huge part of this football club. It is a really special place that helps stir the passions. For me, moving to another ground didn’t bear thinking about, so I’m relieved that everything has been agreed for us to stay put. The latest developments will lay the foundations for us to continue building as a club.

On the pitch, we continue to be in a good place, riding high in the league, after beating Dundee. We’ve had our fair share of games where we’ve not got what we deserved recently, so it was good to see Hearts get the rub of green during that sticky period at 0-0 when it looked like Dundee might take the lead early in the second half.

I’ve heard some suggestions that we were fortunate because they hit the woodwork four times, and we possibly were a bit fortuitous to survive that part of the game, but, on the whole, it would be harsh to suggest we got lucky because we also had some good chances of our own before the break.

The big sour point of the week was learning that Sam Nicholson will be out until January because he has had a good start to the season and is an important player for us. He is one of our most creative players, and I think we’re at our most balanced when both Sam and Jamie Walker are in the team. Hopefully we can soldier on without him.