Rangers target Jamie Walker enjoyed a fine performance for Hearts against Hamilton on Saturday.
Heart of Midlothian manager Craig Levein has told BBC Sport that he thinks Jamie Walker’s attitude has been ‘first class’ despite continued links with Rangers.
Hearts claimed a 2-1 win at Hamilton Academical on Saturday afternoon, with Ross Callachan and Kyle Lafferty finding the net, before Rakish Bingham pulled one back for the Accies.
The win also saw Jamie Walker put in a superb performance, with the winger’s driving run helping open up the Hamilton defence for the opening goal.
Walker’s importance to Hearts is hardly a secret or a surprise at this stage, as the 24-year-old youth product ended last season with 15 goals in all competitions.
However, his summer was filled with confusion over a possible move away from Tynecastle, having turned down a new contract to stay with the club beyond next summer, when his current deal ends.
Rangers attempted to capitalise on that, but failed with two bids for the wide man, and ended the summer transfer window without signing Walker, despite him emerging as one of their top targets.
The Scottish Sun report that Rangers are expecting to sign Walker on a pre-contract agreement in January, and Walker had been criticised for his lack of focus and application as his move to Ibrox fell through last month.
Walker was back to his best against Hamilton though, earning huge praise from manager Craig Levein, who has told BBC Sport that he thought Walker was fantastic, and exhibited ‘first class’ attitude, with Hearts fans showing their appreciation – and they may still hold out some hope of keeping him away from the clutches of Rangers, and tempting him into signing a new deal.
“Special mention to Jamie Walker today, I thought he was fantastic – his application and work rate,” said Levein. “These are things that Jamie’s been criticised for in the past, but the way he stole the ball and pressed with the running he did was wonderful.”
“The last three weeks his attitude has been first class. You could see how much the Hearts supporters appreciated him today,” he added.
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