In a moment of celebration at Tannadice, Hearts manager Derek McInnes ensured that Pierre Landry Kabore received the spotlight, urging him to stand alone in front of the away fans and bask in their applause.

The striker from Burkina Faso delivered an impressive performance, netting two goals and fully utilizing his abilities throughout the match.

Kabore’s success serves as a reminder to his teammates that staying mentally prepared and ready to seize opportunities is crucial, even when playing time is limited.

While Kabore differs from team captain Lawrence Shankland—currently sidelined with a hamstring injury—his game is still evolving. His link-up play could improve, and he needs to refine his decision-making skills, as seen during Saturday’s match.

Nonetheless, Kabore’s positive attitude and speed on the field are evident. He handles physical challenges from defenders well and introduces a certain unpredictability to the team, which had previously enjoyed a good run free from major injuries or suspensions.

Derek McInnes reserved special praise for striker Kabore after his two-goal show at Tannadice

Burkina Faso striker Kabore celebrates after giving Hearts an early lead against Dundee United

Filling in effectively for injured skipper Lawrence Shankland, Kabore added his second late on

Additionally, McInnes highlighted the contributions of Marc Leonard post-match. Since returning to Hearts on loan from Birmingham City, Leonard has seamlessly integrated into the midfield, despite only making a handful of Championship starts for his parent club this season.

All of a sudden, the injuries to Shankland and Cammy Devlin don’t look like the dream-destroying catastrophes they might have been.

McInnes sounds pessimistic over landing the striker he was looking for to freshen things up further as this remarkable season prepares to enter the final straight, but Hearts do have a number of players in reserve — either working their way to full fitness or just settling into the club — with the potential to come on strong in these final 14 games and give the side a fresh look, fresh options and, crucially, fresh legs just as the likes of Kabore and Leonard have done.

Edouardo Ageu came on for the last eight minutes against a United correctly reduced to nine men thanks to the sendings-off of Amar Fatah and substitute Panutche Camara and there are many waiting for him to really deliver.

Listening to McInnes speak at Livingston when the Brazilian made his debut back in August, you couldn’t help but get excited about what the £1.7million club-record signing would bring to the table.

‘I don’t think he’s got a fault as a midfielder,’ said the Tynecastle manager at the time. ‘He can do everything.’

Midfielder Marc Leonard once again looked a composed figure in the centre of the park

Injury has upset the player’s progress, of course, but he’s coming back at a good time. He can still be an influential performer as the battle for the flag reaches fever pitch. Rogers Mato got the last eight minutes as well after completing his move from FK Vardar.

On the face of it, he will bring pace, danger and goals. He had scored 15 in 17 games for Vardar before arriving. He prefers to operate on the left, but word is he has the ability to play across the front line, which could be useful should McInnes, indeed, fail in sorting out a new centre-forward.

Then, of course, there is Kazakh winger Islam Chesnokov. He’s going through a mini pre-season to get up to speed after a period without training, but McInnes was effusive about the experience and increased levels he would bring to the set-up when tying him up on a pre-contract earlier in the campaign.

Put all that together and you are looking at major potential to switch things up, rest legs, play different systems, use different approaches. 

All of which are likely to be vital and utilised as the Gorgie outfit seek to carry on finding an advantage against rivals in Celtic and Rangers, who, as McInnes pointed out deep inside Tannadice, are still light years ahead of his club in terms of resources.

Alexandros Kyziridis, who scored his first goal in three months with a penalty at Tannadice, and Claudio Braga, who played a big part in Kabore’s opener and also won that spot-kick, have had a lot asked of them this season. They’ve delivered too. Yet, you sense there will be times when they will need a rest, need support, need to recharge the batteries a little.

Brazilian star Ageu came off the bench for a cameo but could figure more in weeks to come

That’s not to say there were any signs of fatigue at Tannadice. Far from it. Hearts controlled affairs right from Kabore’s 11th-minute opener and put on a really controlled, composed performance. 

They should have won by more. After some hard battles during January, it felt like the kind of display that has really restored momentum at an important time and given them a serious platform to build from ahead of Tuesday’s visit to St Mirren and then those two back-to-back blockbusters against Hibs at Tynecastle and Rangers at Ibrox.

These games are going to take their toll mentally and physically. McInnes’ squad is likely to be tested to the max over the weeks and months to come. However, there is a strong case to be made that there are the numbers to cope with it. The possibilities in attacking positions, particularly, are really, really exciting.

Ageu, Chesnokov and Mato all come with greater pedigrees, for example, than Kabore, who had been playing in Estonian football before arriving in Edinburgh.

If they can all show the same confidence and commitment as the 24-year-old to step into the fray and give it all they’ve got, there is nothing to suggest Hearts cannot carry on proving that disadvantages in terms of finance can be overcome when the recruitment, the team spirit and the attitudes towards delivering when called upon are right.