Alex Cochrane: What happened with Hearts winning goal

It was a far from straightforward goal and it is still unclear as to how it ended up in the back of the net. The defender discussed the moment when he carried out press duties after the match. He also spoke about Kenneth Vargas, the team's improvement this season and the away form.

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Can you clear up the goal?

We used the conditions to our advantage. I whipped it in on the keeper, Al Forrest had a good defensive header for them and then the rest of it was a pure scramble. Boys are coming over to me and I am not sure what happened. I think it has gone down as an own goal but we will take it.

Are you claiming it?

There was a little bit of me thinking I should claim it but if I do claim it, I think some of the boys will be on to me about that.

Were those some of the hardest conditions you've played in?

It was definitely up there. All game you see Zander [Clark] kick the ball and it spins back into your final third. I feel we managed the conditions well and we know it's a tough place coming here let alone those conditions. I think overall we managed the game well and it's a good three points to take.

Was that a game where you have shown character to dig out the three points?

I think it is something we have definitely improved on from last season. I think last season there were times you could say we were a little bit soft and goals would be too easy. I think this year we have a bit of resilience about us and we fight for each other a little bit more. We know coming here third is not secure. We want to get more points on the board and push further away from Kilmarnock and the rest of the teams. We know there are still a lot of games to play and there's a semi-final to look forward to as well.

Is that semi-final the carrot with players fighting for places?

Definitely. We have the majority of boys coming back in and it's a competitive squad. It's been like that all season so we know places aren't guaranteed. Training the standards have to be there and I think that is what we have set throughout the season.

Did it feel strange not having Shankland?

We know with Alan Forrest and Kenneth Vargas up front they have pace in behind. We tried to use that to our advantage a bit. Shanks is a quality player but those two up top did a good job filling in for him.

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What's it like having Vargas to chuck a ball up to knowing he isn't going to give defender a minute's peace?

It's good. He has that fight and bit of bite that is good to see. He has adapted to the league well and signed permanently which we are delighted with. He is getting better and better. Today he was very good and ran himself into the ground.

Is he like that at training?

Yeah, he is. A constant pest but in a good way. He's a very good player and we're delighted to have him on a permanent deal.

Is the away from something players have spoken about or was spoken about at the start of the season?

It was spoken about at the start of the season. We knew last season wasn't good enough away from home. You see the fans, they turn up in their numbers for the away games. I think that's 10 away wins, a good return. There are still some away games where we could have done better but we knew last year our away form wasn't good enough so we set out to make sure this year was better.

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How do you do that?

Just trying to keep to the same principles, home and away. Try not to make it difficult for ourselves and have that resilience and fight you saw in the second half when St Mirren stick on more players up top. You just have to deal with that and everyone dealt with it.

Did you think last season it was a hoodoo and you needed to change something daft to turn it around?

Not really. I can't really put my finger on what it was last year but I think this year we've gone about our business, home and away, the same way. At the start of the season the manager said our away form last season wasn't good enough. When you go to away games you need to grind out results and sometimes put on a show for the away fans because they come in their numbers, pay their money. This season we have done that better than last season.

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How was it dealing the physical battle?

It's tough. They've got some big, big players in their squad. And tricky players as well. You just have to stand up to it and fight. Everyone who played in a defensive position was good and even set pieces everyone was good and solid.

Does almost tying up third spot before the split speak to the consistency?

Exactly. We mentioned just before the game in a meeting, if we win this game third is closer for us. We still know there is football to be played and we won't take our foot off the gas, we've got a semi-final and six league games. We don't want the season to peter out like it has in previous seasons. We want to win as many games as we can. 

Winning games like this is important going into the semi-final?

Definitely. We have to show a little bit something else. It wasn't the prettiest of games but at the end of the day we got the three points and that is all that matters.