HEARTS CAN THRIVE WITHOUT ME, SAYS McLAUGHLIN

HEARTS keeper Jon McLaughlin reckons the Tynecastle outfit will be even stronger without him next season. The Scotland squad player is set to depart Gorgie this summer, with clubs south of the border lining up to sign him after an impressive campaign under Craig Levein. A replacement is among Levein’s priorities as he prepares to add as many as ten new faces in the close-season. A disappointing season for the team, disrupted by Ian Cathro’s sacking last August and the building of the new £15million main stand, looks set to end with a sixth place Premiership finish. But McLaughlin, 30, is adamant Hearts will be in a better position to launch an assault on second spot next term. Speaking ahead of tonight’s clash at Aberdeen, he said: ‘Really good foundations have been put in. Certainly, things look bright for next season as the gaffer will get a full pre-season with his players and get the messages across straight from the start. ‘The gaffer and his staff have done a really good job of making everyone see the potential here. ‘If you can get the key areas nailed down and a bit of consistency in various areas, it gives you a real good platform. ‘This club has so much going for it. It’s rebuilding from the trouble it had, and that takes time. You can’t just throw tonnes of money at something. You have to have the right people in place. ‘Even if I do move on, they have a great defensive unit. I genuinely don’t think we are very far away from the teams competing for second. ‘The start of the season was difficult. We had a change of manager, the changes the manager wanted to make to the group and the fact we played so many games away in a row — and home games at Murrayfield. We’ve seen since then how important Tynecastle has been, with the consistency we’ve got there.’ The ex-Burton Albion keeper is indebted to Hearts for taking a chance on him last summer after a serious injury. ‘I snapped a tendon from my arm to the chest three games from the end of last season at Burton,’ he said. ‘I had to have surgery and I had 12 weeks when you can’t lift an arm, can’t train and can’t do any work over the summer for pre-season — and, of course, you can’t pass a medical with a prospective club. ‘That is why it took until August before I could go in with clubs and start trying to prove myself. Whatever happens it’s been a great season and it’s thanks to the gaffer and others at the club.’