What shape are Hearts in as blockbuster split looms?

[BBC]

No more respite. This is it.

Four weeks from now, Hearts fans will either be on day four of a week-long bender, or will be questioning whether they can ever watch football again.

The Gorgie side go into their post-split curtain-raiser with a one-point lead at the Scottish Premiership summit.

If you had offered that scenario to any Jambo at the start of the campaign, you would currently be reading this with one hand.

However, with Rangers and Celtic breathing down their necks as they aim for a historic top-flight title, the pressure is about to crank up to a new level.

A mouthwatering top-six finale starts with Celtic hosting Falkirk on Saturday evening, Rangers entertaining Motherwell on Sunday, before a box-office Edinburgh derby closes out another blockbuster weekend.

So what sort of shape are Hearts in as they prepare for one of their most significant trips to Leith in recent memory?

Derek McInnes' players might look a little bronzer when they take to the Easter Road pitch after spending part of the past week getting a sweat on in Spain.

Former Hearts boss Robbie Neilson questioned the decision to opt for a warm-weather training camp at this stage of the season, but McInnes sees the benefits.

The head coach has been boosted by the returns of influential trio Lawrence Shankland, Cammy Devlin and Stuart Findlay in recent weeks, while Harry Milne stepped up his recovery in Spain.

Shankland, Devlin and Findlay all played important roles in Hearts' comeback victory against Motherwell last time out - a result that means they go into the split with 10 points from their past five games.

The next five will determine whether McInnes and his players achieve what many felt was unthinkable at the start of this season.

They face trips to Motherwell and Celtic, plus home encounters with Rangers and Falkirk, following Sunday's derby at Hibernian.

Those five exact fixtures at their respective venues have already contributed more than 10 of Hearts' 70 points this campaign.

Mirroring those results in the split would likely ensure that McInnes and his squad become legends. The next month will reveal all. Buckle up.