Boss hails fans after Perth win

A Lawrence Shankland penalty and an Alan Forrest goal had initially put Hearts on course for their first win in Perthshire since 2010, before a sensational strike from Barrie McKay wrapped up the points, and 2022, for the Maroons.
 
At a costly time of year, the Hearts manager hailed the travelling support.
 
“It was a good night. We played very well in the first half, and deserved to get the goals, then in the second half I felt we were a wee bit flatter and allowed St. Johnstone to put us under pressure,” he told Hearts TV.
 
“We brought 3,500 fans here today, at an expensive time of the year, so to come here we have to entertain them. We had to work extremely hard and put in the tackles. I felt we did that and then our quality came through. A good night, but we put it to bed and look to the derby now.”
 
Zander Clark made his first full start for Hearts in Perth, with the towering goalkeeper producing a marvellous showing against his former club to help Hearts across the line. For Robbie, he knew that Zander was more than capable of filling Craig Gordon’s sizeable shoes.
 
“We knew what we were going to get: Zander’s an international class goalkeeper with a ton experience who’s played hundreds of games,” he explained. “For him it was just a case of getting up to match speed and he’s trained really well alongside Ross Stewart. He’s now got a chance to be our number one.”
 
Up next, the small matter of an Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle.
 
“We’re desperate to get to it now,” he smiled. “We’ve got a few days now to rest and recover as we look forward to it. We’ll start building the team up when the boys come in tomorrow. It’s a massive game and one we’re really looking forward to.”