Lawrence Shankland has opened up on the possibility of staying at Heart if Midlothian beyond the summer after it was revealed the club were looking to hold further contract talks.
The Hearts skipper could potentially play his last game for the club against Kilmarnock this afternoon with his contract up at the end of the month.
He had looked certain to move on after contract talks broke down last year with the offer on the table not good enough to make him sign on.
However, after a season in which he has failed to hit previous heights, it remains to be seen which options he has available to him.
Shankland has shown his goalscoring instincts again in recent weeks and Tynecastle chiefs would love him to stay on. The 29-year-old admits he has some thinking to do.
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He said: "Time will tell on these things. The club have obviously made it known they would like to keep me on again and speak about a contract.
“I’ll take my time with things — I’m in no real rush to make a decision. I don’t want to jump at anything at the minute.
“I need to discuss things with my representatives and my family as well. And if the club appoints a new manager, that’ll be somebody I’ll also need to have a conversation with.
“The last manager leaving maybe delayed things a wee bit for me but I was always quite happy to leave it until the end of the season and just to get on with the football.
“I’ve been comfortable with the situation throughout this spell and the club has been the same way. There has been a lot of respect there between us and it’s appreciated.
“If Derek (McInnes) is confirmed as the new gaffer then I would need to speak to him. There are loads of things you need to think about — the stage you’re at, the next step you want to take.
“If there’s a new challenge open to you then sometimes you want to take that on. I just need to look at what options I have and take it from there.”
That mention of McInnes is important because the pair have a relationship having worked together at Aberdeen when Shankland was a young player.
The Killie boss will stay away from today's game ahead of an expected announcement on Monday or Tuesday confirming he is the new Hearts manager.
It's an appointment that intrigues Shankland and could have a bearing on his own future.
“He’s obviously a strong candidate for the club and for the job," he added. "I know that from my previous time working with him up at Aberdeen.
“I was young then and never quite managed to break into the team, probably due to immaturity more than anything.
“I just needed to learn the game and become a man and play like a man. But I know from the training side of it back then that he’s an enjoyable coach to work with.
"He’s a good manager too. He proved that with Aberdeen as I don’t think they finished lower than fourth in the eight years he was there.
“So I can fully understand why the club would be looking at him.“You would imagine he’d have developed since then too.
“I think even the job he has done with Kilmarnock has been brilliant, getting them promoted and then into Europe — that’s no easy task.
“Finishing in the top six last year was a real achievement too that probably got overlooked a bit.
"He does organise his teams very well. Whenever you play against them, they’re always hard to beat. And they can play as well. They’re effective in wide areas and put clever balls into the box quite a lot.”
