HEARTS manager Csaba Laszlo admits Michael Stewart is among the candidates to succeed the departed Robbie Neilson as club captain.
Right-back Neilson's switch to Leicester City this summer, just six-months after he took over the armband from Christophe Berra – who joined Wolves – has left Laszlo contemplating who should be handed the extra responsibility.
At 28, Scotland inte
rnational Stewart, who is the ambassador for the Hearts Education and Community Trust, is the most experienced player in the first team squad in the wake of the recent departures of Bruno Aguiar and Christos Karipidis to Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia.
The fact the midfielder is also a dyed-in-the-wool Hearts supporter could also sway Laszlo's thoughts when it comes to making a decision but the Hungarian insists he's in no rush to hand out the captaincy.
He said: "Michael is definitely a candidate. At his age, he can lead the team.
"He had a very positive personality development, not only in football, also in his character last season. He has a very positive development behind him and this speaks well for him. After his good performances he has acceptance from the team and he changed his attitude to be very positive in the right direction. All this speaks for him, definitely, but before I make a decision I would like to have everybody on board.
"We have a little bit of time to decide and we must know which players can come to us first. I will try to make a very quick decision about the captain but I think it is more important to have a good team, a competitive team, for next season."
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald is hoping to be fit for the start of next season after being hampered with a hand problem during the latter stages of last term.
The former Scotland Under-21 cap, who recently signed a new three-year deal, is hoping a period of rest during the close-season will enable the ligament damage on his left hand to heal naturally.
He said: "I'm still struggling a little bit so it is good to be able to get some sustained rest really and then hopefully I will be fit and ready to go again when pre-season comes around. It's been a bit of a vicious circle this season because the only thing that will cure the problem is rest but obviously I want to be involved in as many games as possible."
