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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
Sport
Alan Galindo

Craig Halkett and Liam Boyce take part in Hearts training as Jambos prepare for Rangers trip

Craig Halkett and Liam Boyce have been snapped in Hearts training as they prepare for a trip to Rangers.

The influential duo have been long-term absentees and while they may well not play for Steven Naismith's men at Ibrox, the presence of the duo on the training pitch will come as a major boost to team-mates and the management team. Both are big members of the squad and will be determined to see the capital club end the season on an almighty high.

Tynecastle was rocking on Saturday after a comeback win over Aberdeen to reduce the gap in the race to finish behind Celtic and Rangers in third to just two points with two games to play. Josh Ginnelly's stunner and an excellent team move finished off by Lawrence Shankland completed the turnaround after a Zander Clark error allowed Mattie Pollock to head home from a corner.

READ MORE: Steven Naismith overjoyed by Hearts comeback vs Aberdeen as third-place race hots up

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Hearts now face a midweek trip to face Michael Beale's men at Ibrox before an Edinburgh derby battle with Hibs in Gorgie on the final day - a match which could prove massive for both sides in the chase for European football next season.

Speaking after the win, Cammy Devlin told Hearts TV: “It’s definitely a big win. Back in front of our home fans, off the back of a game last weekend that wasn’t ideal, but we still fought hard, showed character to come from behind to get a draw last week to get a draw and to come from behind again today, to turn that draw into a win, at home against a team that is above us. That is massive for us, it keeps us up there and that is what we needed to do today.

Liam Boyce works on the training ground with the ball as he continues return from long-term injury (SNS Group)

“We spoke all week about being a professional footballer, it is about playing in pressure games. When you come to a club like Hearts, that is part and parcel. I think every player that played and came off the bench, even the ones that didn’t come on, they set the standard and it’s just such a big win for us.

“That’s two weeks in a row we’ve come from behind to take four points. That shows the character we have; we are such a tight group and I’m sure that has shown on the pitch. We show that week in and week out, we stick together when it gets tough and that’s what good players have to do when you are at a club like Hearts, you have to step up in the big moments and I thought there were a lot of individuals today, who did that really well.

“We’re still two points behind. We really want to get that third spot. A win today puts us in the mix for that, we can only control our results. We can take confidence from today, but we’ve got to come back down to Earth now and come back in Monday morning and go again ahead of Wednesday night.”

READ NEXT:

- Steven Naismith overjoyed by Hearts comeback vs Aberdeen as third-place race hots up

- Hearts 2 Aberdeen 1 as battle for third on, Josh Ginnelly a must keep - 3 things we learned

- Hearts player ratings as Jambos overcome Aberdeen threat to keep third place dreams alive

- Cammy Devlin outlines four key Hearts areas of his game to improve after Steven Naismith talks

- Harry Stone handed new Hearts deal as Joe Savage talks Craig Gordon path to success

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