Craig Levein insists he will not let Steven Naismith and Arnaud Djoum leave Hearts without a fight.
The Jambos boss has already successfully tied down key men Christophe Berra, John Souttar and Michael Smith on new deals and now wants Scotland forward Naismith and Cameroon star Djoum added to that list.
Naismith is on a season-long loan from Norwich but the 32-year-old will become a free agent this summer when his Carrow Road deal expires.
Djoum, 27, made his move to Gorgie from Lech Poznan in 2015 but his current contract also runs out at the end of the season.
Both men have been offered fresh terms to stay at Tynecastle but Levein knows his chances of persuading both to commit their futures to Hearts depends on whether they receive more tempting proposals elsewhere.
“I’m trying,” he said. “My strike rate isn’t bad so far, so I’ll just need to keep it going.
“It would good to get all the ones signed up who give us that stability I keep talking about.
“I’ll just wait and see what happens.
“I want Arnaud to stay but he said to me a while ago that if something comes up that at his age is worth an awful lot of money, then he would probably look to take it.
“But I’ll keep chipping away. He likes it here in Edinburgh and his family are settled. There is more to life than money.
“I believe Steven is happy here but again it depends on whether something else comes up in the next couple of months that piques his interest.
“But I’ll keep plugging away.”
Securing both players would be a huge boost for Levein as he plans ahead to next season.
And the Hearts boss is looking forward to his side getting back on track this term after confirming striker Uche Ikpeazu and Peter Haring are close to making their comebacks from injury.
Berra, Souttar and Naismith have all recovered from the injuries that helped derailed the Jambos’ early title charge and Levein can finally see light at the end of the tunnel.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Ladbrokes Premiership clash with Livingston, Levein said: “Uche trained yesterday with the group for the first time. He will definitely be involved on Sunday but tomorrow might come a little bit early, while Peter will probably be a week later in his return.
“Normally I’d say I’d try to twist Uche’s arm, but I don’t think I could twist his.
“We didn’t just miss his goals and hold-up play, we missed that raw energy and enthusiasm he’s got which unsettles the opposition.
“We’ve already got Souttar, Berra and Naismith back. We’ve never lost when those three have been in the team, which is good to hear.
“So we’ll now get Uche back on Sunday, while Peter will probably be a week later.
“We’ve won five out of the last six matches – we should have won six out of six but that’s another matter – but we’re going to get stronger for sure.
“The statistics would say we’re getting back to our early-season form. I wouldn’t say we’re quite there yet, but the signs are encouraging.”
