Livingston boss David Martindale must have been ecstatic when he staved off fierce competition to land Hearts midfielder Macaulay Tait.
The Championship side signed Tait in January until the end of the season after a number of second tier clubs were queuing for his signature.
The Hearts starlet was handed some minutes in the Europa Conference League this season in games against Dinamo Minsk and Petrocub.
But he was mainly playing in the Lowland League with Hearts B and was easily one of the side’s best performing players.
That’s why the Gorgie side saw it fit to send Tait out on loan midway through the campaign to continue his quickly accelerating development.
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Livingston boss David Martindale on Macaulay Tait’s Hearts future
Martindale is a huge fan of the 19-year-old with Tait playing as a sitting midfielder for Livingston. He’s played eight Championship games thus far as Livi try to seal promotion back to the Premiership.
And even though he’s only been in West Lothian for two months, Martindale is convinced Tait can take another huge step next season and play regularly for Hearts in the top-flight.
Speaking to Hearts Standard, the Livingston manager stated: “I think he’ll play for Hearts all day long. Whether it is this summer or the summer after, I don’t know. The competition for places at a club like Hearts is very big. It’s pretty competitive.
“What I think Mac has to be wary of is that he doesn’t go back and become a squad player. I think he’s enjoying playing football. I think it’s important for Mac to hear that next year he is playing football on a regular basis, a full season.
“Do I feel that that could be at Hearts? One hundred per cent. Will he be a Hearts player? I think he will be. When? That probably all depends on who’s in front of him at Hearts at this point in time.”
Macaulay Tait on playing for Livingston
Tait featured in Open Goal’s latest ‘day in the life’ vlog series as Si Ferry and Paul Slane visited Livingston for a behind-the-scenes look before they played Airdrie earlier this month.
Ferry interviewed Tait and the Hearts youngster was asked why the Tynecastle club thought it was best for him to go out on loan instead of playing B team football for the rest of the season.
Tait replied: “I think for them, it was just getting men’s football, so they were quite happy for me to get playing football.
“In a B team, you’re obviously in a league but you can’t really do anything in it (win the league). But here, you’re fighting for a league, you’re fighting in cups, so it means so much to everyone.
“Obviously we’re trying to get back in the Premiership, so it means everything.”