Heart of Midlothian manager Robbie Neilson was full of praise for Ghana midfielder Prince Buaben who lasted the entire duration as the side managed a 4-3 win over St Johnstone.

The Jambos recorded the dramatic win at Tynescatle on Sunday and the coach was thrilled by the outcome considering more than half of his starting line-up have endured a disrupted pre-season.

Prince Buaben, whose only pre-season outing came as a second-half substitute against Bohemians four and a half weeks ago, was singled out for particular praise after soldiering on for the entire 90 minutes.

“We had players coming back who have been struggling with injury. For a guy who has had about five days’ pre-season and not had a game since the 1st of July, Buaben, for me, was different class. At half-time he was struggling a bit but we asked if he could give us another ten minutes and he ended up playing the whole game. He was happy to stay on and it takes character to do that,” he said

“We needed him to stay on and Morgaro needed him beside him and he fought on. It was the same with guys like Augustyn, Juanma and Rossi. Some of these guys haven’t played a full game in pre-season yet. It shows real character and commitment to the team.”

Nicholson won the game for Hearts with ten minutes left after an energetic St Johnstone side had fought back from 3-1 down to level at 3-3.