Hearts latest as former star's future at Barnsley assessed and rival attempts to pile pressure on Jambos

It could be a big weekend in the Premiership for Hearts as they face a battle to reach the top six.

They take on Dundee United this Sunday where a top half spot could be secured with victory, if Motherwell and St Mirren lose on Saturday. A win would also help them keep pace with United who hold what could be the league’s final European spot of fifth.

Points for Motherwell or St Mirren would set up a pre split finale away to the former at Fir Park. Here are some of the latest headlines this Saturday when it comes to Hearts.

Former striker future

Stephen Humphrys became a popular loan player during the 22/23 season amid time away from parent club at the time, Wigan Athletic. Now with Barnsley, Humphrys joined on an initial one-year-deal at the end of the summer, with a 12-month option on the club’s end. That has not yet been activated and interim manager Conor Hourihane has refused to confirm the chances of him remaining at Barnsley with free agency looming.

He said: "He’s really great quality for the level and is a powerful, explosive player and we wanted him in areas where he can hurt and I thought he did that at Wigan when he came on in a short space of time. I asked him to work hard off the ball and then will get your joy in the final third and I thought he really bought into that. He was really good at it.

“He’s got quality for this level. I am not privy to those conversations at the minute as I am only here until the end of the end of the season. But there’s no doubt I believe him and he’s got really good attributes for this level. He can take people on, is a dribbler and has got that ‘X factor.’ He is going to be a big asset for this club or another moving forward - whether it is going to be here after his season, who knows as I am not privy to those conversations for now.”

Dundee United mind games

Tannadice boss Jim Goodwin has gone down the road of mind games ahead of the Hearts clash by insisting the game is a must win for Neil Critchley’s team. He said: "It's a great venue, a good away fixture one of the best in the league in terms of the stadium and atmosphere and it's one that we can really look forward to.

"It's a game that is a must-win for Hearts though, given the predicament they are in, especially with the good run St Mirren have been on. They were able to close that gap on the top six again last weekend. There are three or four teams still in the mix, so Hearts will have to approach the game in a positive fashion, and know they need to try and win it.

"From our perspective, we know what we have to do. We still need another point to hit that target we set way back at the beginning of the season of 45 points. We've got two games to get that total."