Jorge Grant sat down with the media at Tynecastle Park after helping Heart of Midlothian defeat Aberdeen 2-0. The midfielder opened the scoring from the penalty spot.

Grant spoke about taking over penalty responsibilities from Lawrence Shankland, the conversation that led to it, his own form and the battle for third place.

READ MORE: What Steven Naismith said to his players at HT and why Jorge Grant took penalty

Did you feel the pressure?

There was a lot of time to be fair between the VAR and stuff and waiting to take the penalty. I felt good.

When did you decide you were taking the penalty?

We spoke about it in the changing room before. We then had a little chat on the pitch as well. Obviously, he has scored so many penalties for us but at the moment it is just not happening for him so if I can take that pressure off of him and he gets his goal anyway.

Have you been in his ear since Tuesday?

Nah, I haven't. I think he said it would be selfish of him to take another penalty. It's about the team and that just shows the type of character he is.

When did you decide where you were going for the penalty?

I watched the keeper before the game to see where he was diving and he's been diving that way a lot. I watched the keeper and I was always going to go that way.

Can you tell me about the mentality in the squad?

We have got a great group. It was important we were together. The first half wasn't great on Saturday. We spoke about that in the changing room, the same as the other night, it is something we need to work on but it shows the character of the team to go and score two goals in the second half.

Are you playing the best football of your time at Hearts?

I feel like that but I feel that there are loads of aspects I still need to work on. That comes with games. The manager has put his trust in me throughout December as well. I had my little knock but to come straight back in and play games is good for me. That's what I want to do, I want to play.

READ MORE: Hearts 2-0 Aberdeen: Shankland makes xG mockery, duo thwart Dons, deserved win

Was that a really frustrating moment, putting in a great performance against Celtic but not being able to kick on due to the injury?

Yeah, I felt like that. I was probably lucky in that there was a small amount of games in a short period and then we had the break so it gave me more chance to recover quickly. I felt like I started to get a run in the team. I caught in in the first five minutes of that Celtic game. I just wanted to do what I could for the team and stay on. Since the break, I've started two out of the three so it's all good.

Do you think anyone is going to catch you in third?

It is hard to say because there are still a lot of games to go. I feel like we just need to take it game by game. If we start looking ahead and taking our eye off the ball that's going to be a problem. As long as we concentrate on each game coming up and go from there and try to pick up three points every time we go out there.

Has there been lessons learned from last season?

Yeah, I can't remember what it was last year, four or five points clear and came back and we weren't at it. A little bit of a learning experience for the boys who were here last year. We can push on and concentrate on each game that is coming forward.

The manager has spoken about the rotation, especially in the attacking third, what's it like having that?

We work on stuff on training a lot, patterns of play, as long as everyone is listening those things are starting to come out in games. I feel like we have got good movement between the attackers, like when someone comes short, someone goes long etc. We work on it in training and it's coming out.

READ MORE: Hearts move towards Europe: Defensive rocks, finding a way to win, 10-point lead

Are you hopeful Lawrence will stay come the end of the transfer window?

That's totally Lawrence's decision but we all want him to be here.

He showed what he can do?

Yeah, that split-second finish is actually a joke. I just went 'oh wow'. I was stood right next to him. He has got that quality so we want him to be here.

He pushed you out the way?

He did! He did! I said to him in the changing room after that he actually pushed me out of the way because I wanted to shoot as well. That's what he is about. It's a quality finish.

If he does leave you will still be on penalties...

I put myself forward straight away to take penalties. I took them down in England. I felt confident then and I still feel confident in myself to take them.