Three areas of the squad where Hearts are still light after the January transfer window

The Tynecastle club signed four players but still lack cover in certain areas

Centre-back

This is undoubtedly the one area of the team where Hearts lack proper depth. Behind John Souttar and Craig Halkett the only experienced centre-back is Clevid Dikamona.

The incredibly versatile Michael Smith can cover, but his manager now sees him as an influential centre-midfield and the team could be weakened in that area if he’s needed to drop back. Toby Sibbick, due to his size, could fill into the role also, though there’s no doubt Daniel Stendel will have some serious concerns if Souttar or Halkett pick up a medium to long-term injury between now and the end of the season.

Hearts manager Daniel Stendel. Picture: SNS

An out-and-our winger

The departure of Jake Mulraney in the January transfer window to Atlanta United, welcomed as it was due to the six-figure fee received for a player out of form, has left Hearts without an experienced chalk-on-the-boots wide player.

Lewis Moore and Euan Henderson have been filling in over recent weeks. While they’re getting better as players, there is still a question as to whether they can blossom into top-six quality attackers in this league.

Conor Washington coming off the bench to play right-midfield in each of the last two games demonstrates that Hearts could have done with bringing in another wide player in the window.

Central creativity

It was mighty tempting to pick goalkeeper for this last entry, especially after Joel Pereira’s less-than-convincing display in the 3-3 draw with St Johnstone. But the fact remains there are still three senior goalkeepers on the books and Stendel himself has said it’s a position he’s not thinking about until the summer.

Therefore, we’ve opted for the lack of creativity in the centre of the park. Andy Irving has been doing a terrific job as a deep-lying playmaker, though there isn’t the same dependability from the options who station themselves a little closer to goal. Ryotaro Meshino is wildly inconsistent and too lightweight to play in a midfield two, while Jamie Walker doesn’t appear to be one of the manager’s favourites at this moment in time. The likes of Sibbick, Oli Bozanic, Loic Damour and new signing Marcel Langer are all about size and industry rather than picking the lock. It’s why we’ve seen Steven Naismith drop back into centre-mid in each of the last two games.

As Hearts are playing in a 4-4-2 with two wingers at the moment, this isn’t necessarily a pressing concern, but it would have been beneficial had they been able to give themselves another option.