CRAIG LEVEIN, the Hearts head coach, believes emerging victorious from an ugly ‘war of attrition’ against St Johnstone is the perfect preparation for what promises to be an explosive Edinburgh derby against Hibernian.

Levein was under no illusions that the scrappy affair, in which quality and clear chances were at a premium, provided entertainment for the masses at BT Murrayfield, but Kyle Lafferty’s seventh goal of the season did ultimately afford the hosts all three points.

What little inspiration there was on show came from the boots the precocious Harry Cochrane, 16, who climbed from the bench at half-time to hit the post and tee up the winning goal, claiming man of the match. Quite the cameo.

Levein, however, was buoyed by the character and persistence on show as they battled to a hard-fought triumph; attributes which tend to be utterly essential come derby day in the capital.

“It was a war of attrition” said Levein. “But the encouraging thing for me is that in similar games in the previous couple of seasons, we haven't managed to dig out a win.

“That’s what we need for every match. The more determined you are, the better chance you've got.

“You can't always guarantee you'll play well, but if you can be really difficult to beat on the days that you don't play well – like yesterday – then you can get the right result.

“I thought we did deserve to win, although we didn't play well. We had much more pressure in their area and had a lot more shots than they did. I can't remember Jon McLaughlin making a save in the 90 minutes.

“I’d certainly rather go into a derby match on the back of that result.”

Lafferty, being watched by Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill, was the first to threaten during the forgettable opening exchanges, heading wide after meeting a whipped John Souttar corner-kick.

Aside from taking responsibility for set-pieces, Souttar was defending well, embarking on mazy runs and spreading wonderful passes with estimable ease. In a game crying out for inspiration, the Jambos centre-back looked the most likely to provide it. He will be one to watch for the next Scotland manager.

A forgettable first 45 minutes finally showed signs of life on the cusp of half-time, with some intrepid work in the right channel by Isma Goncalves allowing Jamie Walker to burst into the box, however his low drive from a prohibitive angle was saved by Alan Mannus.

Hearts turned to Cochrane at the interval, with the precocious playmaker sent on in place of the ineffective Prince Buaben.

However, it was the more established talent of Walker who almost provided the opening goal, spearheading a counter-attack and slipping a low pass through for Goncalves – only for his tame effort to nestle in the arms of Mannus.

Jon McLaughlin was finally called into action when former Hibs star David Wotherspoon cut in from the left wing and, after turning Michael Smith inside out, forced a sharp low save from the Hearts No 1.

The introduction of Cochrane had the desired impact with 15 minutes left on the clock when his fizzing low drive was controlled in the box by Lafferty, whose sharp snap-shot took a ricochet off Joe Shaughnessy and nestled in the corner of the net.

Cochrane almost added gloss to the scoreline with the final kick of the game, but he failed to provide the finishing touch to a slick break when his low shot crashed off the base of the post.

The win sees Hearts climb into the top six for the first time this season, leapfrogging St Johnstone into fifth spot. With a run of eight successive matches at the new-look Tynecastle between October 28 and December 17, the Jambos suddenly look rather well-placed.

St Johnstone, meanwhile, have lost three games on the bounce, without scoring in any of them.

“We are not making things happen,” rued Tommy Wright. “Our players are good enough, they have got quality, but the frustrating thing for me is that we got into good positions, but we created nothing. That's where players at the top end of the pitch have got to stand up.”