Hearts survive another laboured start and Shankland shows his range - 4 talking points from St Johnstone win

Three points on the road is the most important thing for the Jambos as Steven Naismith gets one over his former gaffer Craig Levein.

Hearts left McDiarmid Park with all three points on a chilly Wednesday night in Perth as Lawrence Shankland netted his 22nd goal of the season for the club.

It wasn't a vintage performance by any means but it got the job done. St Johnstone put up a good fight and caused problems but Hearts probably could have seen the game out a bit more comfortably had they been a bit more clinical and, as had been the case of late, started the game with a bit more tempo.

Here are four key talking point from the match:

Hearts need to play to Fraser's strengths more

Scott Fraser made his first start for Hearts since arriving on loan late in January but wasn't able to have any real sort of impact on the game. The player gets the benefit of the doubt so early into his time at the club but for all of the talk from Steven Naismith of wanting to get the Charlton loanee on the ball to exploit his vision and understanding of the game, Hearts' approach meant he was seldom given any real time on the ball to have an impact. The formation change in the second half only served to take him further out of the game. If he is capable of having the impact that Naismith believes he is then more needs to be done to play towards his strengths. 

Variety the spice of Hearts' life with Shankland goals

Some strikers earn reputations for scoring the same goal time and time again, that certainly can't be said of Hearts number nine. Shankland effectively assists himself for his goal in this game, bamboozling Ryan McGowan with his first touch before doing exactly what you'd expect once he had created the space for himself inside the box. As the old saying goes, 'it doesn't matter how they go in...' but it's certainly fun to see what the Jambos' skipper is going to do next. All that's really left to try is lobbing the keeper from halfway so watch this space. 

Decision time at right back is looming 

Dexter Lembikisa has done respectably since arriving on loan in January but Nat Atkinson is back from the Asian Cup now so Steven Naismith has a decision to make. Has the Wolves loanee done enough to hold onto the starting jersey? You expect he'll retain his spot for Sunday's Scottish Cup match at Airdrieonians but beyond that you'd probably tip the Australian to reclaim the right back berth. It could be an interesting battle between the two for the remainder of the season, both have been fine without looking exceptional. 

Time is running out to address first half issues

It wouldn't be unfair to say that Hearts have gotten away with their slow starts to matches of late. Ten games unbeaten and the final result is of course the most important thing but they have two more matches remaining before a triple header that sees them face Celtic, Rangers and rivals Hibs. You have to believe the two Glasgow clubs will be more able to punish a slow start with more clinical attacking players and the derby will, as always, be a law unto itself. It's far from panic stations at this stage but it must be at the back of the minds of both the supporters and the coaching staff.