'The travelling support are getting rewarded' - Shankland

Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland was pleased to start the busy festive period with a win away at Kilmarnock, a triumph that put a rather unwelcome record to rest.

Will Dennis' own goal, which came from a Shankland cross, earned Hearts a fourth successive top-flight win for the first time in five years.

“It’s quite an interesting stat, probably not one to be proud of, but it’s good to put an end to that," Shankland said. "We’re on a good run, performances have been good and we’re getting victories - that’s the main thing.

“You come into a busy period in December, today was the first of many hard [games], so it was good to come here - tough place to come - and get another victory.

"Our away form last season wasn’t something to be proud of; we seem to have turned that, and we can be proud of the work we’ve done. The travelling support are getting rewarded.”