Hearts star Ryan McGowan reckons loan deals could be the making of the club's top young stars.

Gordon Smith and Kevin McHattie became the latest fringe players to drop down the leagues in search of first-team action this week when they joined Hamilton and Alloa Athletic respectively. The highly-rated quartet of Jason Holt, David Smith, Jamie Walker and Denis Prychynenko are all at Raith Rovers at the moment. Rob Ogleby, Mark Ridgers and Matthew Park have all benefited from their spells at East Fife, while Jordan Morton (Cowdenbeath) and Conrad Balatoni (Partick) have also been receiving positive feedback for their performances.

The Aussie ace, currently impressing at left-back in place of the injured Danny Grainger, knows from personal experience just how beneficial heading out on loan can be, having used his spells at Ayr United and Partick Thistle to great effect.

And with the club making clear its intention to rely more and more on its youngsters in the future, Ryan is hoping the current crop of starlets grasp their opportunities with both hands.

"We have a number of our youth players in the squad just now and if more get the opportunity, then great," said Ryan, who is hoping to keep his place in the side for tomorrow's trip to Parkhead to take on Celtic. "If clubs are going to come in with offers for players, we'll listen to them as we are no different from anyone else.

"We have a lot of promising players at the academy and a number have gone on loan. A few of the guys had asked me what I thought about going on loan and I told them to jump at the chance to get first team football.

"When I was at Ayr there would be guys with a regular job who wouldn't finish until two hours before kick-off and that was an eye opener and helped me realise what I've got.

"A lot of these young boys might have been at the academy for a long time and got it quite easy and it's sometimes a good thing to have your eyes opened like that.

"You don't want to lose your edge and want to keep playing games. I loved both my loan spells at Ayr and Partick. The buzz around games is great as if you train all week and don't play, you miss the matchday experience."

Meanwhile, Dale O'Hara has become the latest player to agree to an early termination of his contract, the 18-year-old having completed the formalities of his departure to follow keeper Janos Balogh out the exit door.

On HeartsTV today, Mehdi Taouil looks ahead to the Parkhead showdown. Plus tomorrow, live audio from Glasgow from 2.45pm.