Peter Haring hopes to give Hearts fans a cup final boost after revealing he’s trying to get a new deal agreed as soon as possible.
The Austrian is out of contract next month but has been in negotiations with Tynecastle chiefs since the turn of the year.
He has held off putting pen to paper sparking fears he could bring his four-year stint in Gorgie to an end in the summer.
But Haring, who is preparing for this third Scottish Cup Final with the Jambos, gave the clearest indication yet that he wants to stay.
When asked if negotiations were being shelved until after Hampden, the 28-year-old said: “Not really, we’re speaking with each other and trying to make it happen.
“Hopefully we can get there and see what happens.”
Meanwhile Liam Boyce is winning his fight to be fit for Saturday’s Hampden showdown with Rangers.
The Jambos top scorer limped off after just 12 minutes of the dress rehearsal on Saturday as Hearts lost out 3-1 in the final game of the league campaign.
The Northern Irishman complained of a tight groin sparking fears he could miss out on the showpiece final.
But Robbie Neilson is confident the 16-goal hitman will be ready to go on Saturday. The Jambos have a bounce game organised for Tuesday to fine tune the majority of the squad.
Boyce will sit that one out.
But the manager said: “We’re hoping Boyce will be fine, he obviously had to come off with a tight groin but it looks as though it has settled down a wee bit.
“He will not train on Tuesday but I would expect him to be back on Thursday.
“They all want to be a part of it, we’ll make an assessment of Liam on Thursday but having spoken to him and the physio I think he should be fine.
“We’ve still got the bounce game on Tuesday, it’s just for fitness for a couple of players and to work on a couple of things.”
Boyce himself expects to be good to go at the national stadium as he chases a Scottish Cup medal to go with the League Cup gong he won with Ross County in 2016.
He said: “It’s feeling a lot better than what I thought when it happened.
“I tried to sprint and just felt the leg tighten up and a wee pain, sort of like a shock.
“You automatically think the worst. It was a wee bit sore on Saturday night but since then it’s been getting better.
“It’s the best we could hope for really.”
