Hearts' chance to seize third place thanks to one of Scotland's best defensive records

A potentially pivotal day lies ahead at Rugby Park

The players who step off the Hearts team coach outside Rugby Park on Saturday will sense a potentially pivotal moment in the East Ayrshire air. Beating Kilmarnock would propel them to third place in the Premiership table, for at least 24 hours, giving them a sense of being where they aimed to be back in the summer.

St Mirren are currently third at the moment, two points better off than their Edinburgh counterparts. They travel to Rangers on Sunday afternoon and could therefore reclaim third from Hearts with any kind of result at Ibrox. That would be a tall order given only Celtic and Aberdeen have won there domestically, but certainly not impossible.

Hearts' focus must only be on their own business. They have won their last three Premiership fixtures at home to Livingston, away at Motherwell and home to St Johnstone. Kilmarnock on astroturf is a different proposition and, as head coach Steven Naismith told this newspaper earlier in the week, will demand a different gameplan.

Supporters are aware that taking third spot and potentially keeping it beyond the weekend could become a major moment in the overall context of the season. More than 1,300 away tickets have been purchased for Rugby Park so far and more will be snapped up between now and Saturday lunchtime.

Consistency has largely eluded Naismith's side hitherto in his first campaign in charge. Therefore, the chance to add a fourth win in a row and climb to third makes for a significant opportunity. Hearts were left cursing themselves after allowing third place to slip from their grasp late into last season and it is not a mistake they would intend repeating. Their pre-season aim was to finish in that position and enjoy the European benefits which go with it.

That is all a long way off as we enter December. The lack of consistency has undermined efforts at Riccarton and the next few weeks will reveal much about whether Hearts have what is required to achieve their stated target.

If the perception resulting from the unpredictable form is that the Tynecastle side are lacking defensive security, then the Premiership table tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Only 12 goals conceded in 13 games amounts to one of the best records in the country. Six of those strikes were against Celtic and Rangers, who are also the only two top-flight teams to have lost less goals than Hearts.

There is a justifiable degree of satisfaction at such statistics within the confines of Riccarton, not withstanding room for improvement in the weeks ahead. Three successive league victories hints at gradual momentum which they want to build on in East Ayrshire. The carrot dangling in front of them is that third spot.

It remains to be seen if Naismith sticks with the three-man central defence which helped underpin the last three league results. Some key players are nearing a first-team return, including goalkeeper Craig Gordon and central defender Craig Halkett. Winger Barrie McKay is also pushing to play again in the coming weeks.

Hearts face eight important games between now and the winter break in early January. If they can plough through them and remain third, it sets up an exciting and intriguing second half of the season. Saturday in Kilmarnock may play a crucial part if that prospect is to become reality.