Hearts take a decision on Barrie McKay as several players get a boost

Barrie McKay is back in the Hearts squad and classed as fit and available for the Premiership run-in following a midweek comeback. He played 75 minutes of a closed-door game against Dundee at Tynecastle Park and is poised to return to competitive action against Kilmarnock a week on Saturday.

Riccarton management have now decided the winger is ready to take part as they prepare for the final eight league games of the season, plus the latter stages of the Scottish Cup. McKay has played just seven times this season due to two separate knee injuries, the most-recent coming against Hibs at the end of December.

He has fought back to fitness and Hearts are keen to use him in their remaining fixtures. "I think there is a good chance of him being involved in the squad against Kilmarnock," said Steven Naismith, the club's head coach. "The biggest thing he needs now is minutes.

"We've got to understand that he isn't going to be the Barrie McKay who is flying with a full pre-season and 10 games under his belt. It's about trying to get him on the pitch at the right times and when we need him. He is now classed as back in the squad and fit, so that's the biggest positive.

"He played 75 minutes. He could have played the full game but it wasn't worth the risk for the final 15 minutes. He has missed a lot of football so the minutes were the biggest thing for him. He has had a real focus and determination to keep all his other muscles strong in the gym. Now we need to get him up to speed on the pitch. Training will give you so much but matches are greater intensity."

Japanese forwards Yutaro Oda and Kyosuke Tagawa also played in the bounce match, which Dundee won 5-1, as did Australian midfielder Cammy Devlin. Those three were boosted by the game time having had restricted opportunities in competitive games lately. Winger Alan Forrest and defender Alex Cochrane also featured.

The rest of the Hearts team was made up of B team and under-18 players. Luke Rathie and Adam Forrester featured in defence, and Liam McFarlane was in goal. Callum Sandilands, James Wilson and Gus Stevenson came off the bench.

"In these games, I push the boundaries of what we are wanting to do," explained Naismith. "For example, goal kicks: Do not kick long, you must play out. It gives you a better understanding if we are good enough to go to the next level on it and, if not, how do you improve? Inevitably mistakes are made. To get better, you need to make them and it's better to do that in these games.

"Players got minutes who needed minutes. Baz came back from injury and it was an opportunity to have some of the younger players in the team. A few of them did well. The tactical part is about pushing it to the limits. As much as you are disappointed with the result, some of the goals came from our errors.

"Yutaro got some minutes after being injured. Kyosuke got some minutes because he hasn't played much lately. Cammy hasn't had a lot recently so, for those guys, it was a big positive. Scott Fraser was on the bench on Saturday with a view to coming on for the last 10 or 15 minutes. Rather than him play in the bounce game, he has trained all week to make sure he is robust enough for next week."