Steven Naismith makes Hearts demand as Chris Sutton issues VAR 'fiasco' verdict

The Premiership campaign is about to enter its most decisive phase, with Hearts and Hibs having put together very different campaigns. Hearts have already effectively locked down fourth place, while Hibs look likely to miss out on the top half.

In the last round of action before the split, Hearts take on Livingston on Saturday, while Hibs head to Motherwell. In the meantime, we have rounded up all the latest news surrounding the Edinburgh club and their rivals.

Naismith on the split

Hearts boss Steven Naismith has been speaking about taking the pressure off ahead of the split. He said when asked about whether he enjoys the end of the season: “Yeah because it is the business end. “It is defined. I get asked all the time about the table, you are in sixth place, it's September.

“Aye, but look at the table now. You start to have more of a focus on the endpoint and the achievement of the season. We have got our fingertips on third. I want us to get as many points as we can. Can we get that confirmed and done and the semi-final? These are big games. I still think we have a long way to go to feel comfortable consistently being here.

“We've got loads of work to do but being in the two semi-finals this season is a brilliant start. I want us to do better than we did in the last one and go in with real belief that we can win it. Getting third and getting that signed off, that comes by winning on Saturday and going into the split not needing to win too many more games.”

Sutton on referees

Chris Sutton has weighed in on the latest refereeing controversy in the Premiership, with Aberdeen calling out the use - or misuse - of VAR. Sutton told the Daily Record: “It doesn’t look good for Scottish football. Likewise this Aberdeen VAR fiasco. That really is an unbelievable story and the SFA trying to go back and say they got it right, even though they guessed at the time, is some cheek.

“They simply couldn’t overturn that decision if the technology failed. If the Hawkeye was on the blink they they had to do it the old-fashioned way by letting the officials on the pitch make the call. You can’t then squint at a screen and then hope for the best. I’m fully behind Aberdeen’s stance as they had every right to be angry.

“If that happened in Sunday’s derby we would have needed to call in the UN this week. This was a result that could have massive ramifications to the final standings in the league – and it could cost clubs serious cash. The SFA are really going to need to have a long look about how they are running VAR because the mistakes are piling up. It’s a shame to have this pitch and VAR nonsense on the back of last weekend, where Scottish football was shown in the best possible light.”