NO MATTER how many times you've seen him do it before, Paul Hartley's ability to send one of those trademark free-kicks soaring high into the net manages to take your breath away every time.

As far as entertainment value is concerned, just one of those strikes is worth the ticket price alone but team-mate Craig Gordon believes the midfielder's contribution to the side can now be measured in millions of pounds.

Scotland internationalist Hartley is playing the best football of his career right now and it is surely no coincidence that Hearts are on course for a first-ever Champions League place.

And if, as seems likely, they fulfil that ambition this term, then much of the credit will go to the midfielder who has weighed in with 15 goals in league and cup, not to mention a string of impressive displays in the midfield engine room.

A high percentage of those 15 goals have been from dead ball situations and breathtaking free-kicks have become something of a trademark for the former St Johnstone player.

He was at it again on Saturday, stepping up to the mark and sending another stunner past Alan Combe, the Kilmarnock goalkeeper left without a hope of getting even a fingertip to the ball.

With the scoreline at 0-0 it was the vital breakthrough Hearts needed and the importance of Hartley's opener was not lost on Gordon.

The goalkeeper was unveiled as the Scottish Football Writers' Association's Player of the Year at the weekend but he says Hartley's strikes this season are worth their weight in gold to the Tynecastle side.

Gordon had a clear view of Hartley's 70th-minute goal from the other end of the pitch and said: "It was a fantastic piece of technique from Paul to put us ahead, it really was a magnificent goal.

"He has been scoring regularly from those type of free-kicks for a while now and you can almost touch it now just how much they mean to the club.

"You can almost measure their value in millions of pounds when you look at the fact that there is a real possibility of Champions League football for the club.

"With that in mind it was a massive goal, as was Christophe Berra's.

"The boys were a wee bit disappointed at half-time that we didn't come in ahead but all credit to the guys because they rolled their sleeves up and continued to push for a goal because it was important that we took care of our own business.

"It was a hard game, probably quite a scrappy game but, if you want to win prizes at the end of the season, those are the types of games you have to win.

"The Champions League is a level of club football that you want to play at and every guy in our dressing-room is desperate to try to get the club into the hat. Hopefully Paul's goals can help us get there.

"We know that it would only be the qualifiers but it still gives you a massive chance to play on that kind of stage."

The goalkeeper himself had a huge say in the outcome of Saturday's match against a side who simply refused to cave in until Hartley's strike. Killie would have hauled themselves back onto a level playing field had it not been for a brilliant reflex stop from Gordon, the 23-year-old smothering the ball on the ground just as it looked like Killie defender Simon Ford would stab it into the net.

A goal at that stage would have sparked a recovery for Kilmarnock but the Scotland No.1 lived up to his Player of the Year billing to keep his net intact for the second league game on the bounce. And Gordon revealed that, at that stage, the Hearts players did not realise Rangers were on the verge of dropping two points as they faced Aberdeen at Ibrox.

He admitted: "I'm not sure who got the final touch but it was important to keep it out.

"I just spread myself and luckily enough managed to get my leg to it because these things can turn games.

"It just kind of got stuck underneath my body and that allowed me to get hold of it.

"I think I was just in the right place at the right time, I didn't know an awful lot about it I must admit but I'll take it because it's helped us get the three points.

"We still thought that it was 1-0 at Ibrox but when we came in at the end we heard it had finished 1-1.

"It was a good result for us as it takes us five points clear, as well as having a better goal difference.

"Hopefully, we can get the three points next week as well and really keep the pressure on."

With another two home fixtures to come before the season draws to a close, Gordon believes that the vociferous home support could help drive Hearts to European glory.

The Tynecastle supporters urged their team on throughout the 90 minutes and, at one stage, a roar even went up around the ground in the mistaken belief that Aberdeen had scored a second in Govan.

You certainly can't fault their enthusiasm and Gordon is hoping the ever-growing band of fans can act as his side's 12th man in the run-in.

"We've been lucky, getting three games at home after the split and that could make all the difference for us," he said.

"The supporters were fantastic against Kilmarnock and that is the type of backing we need from now until the end of the season to help us through the remaining games and help us get the qualification for the Champions League.

"We've been striving for that all season, they played a big part in the win on Saturday and hopefully they can continue to do that."

Of course, before their next game at Tynecastle though comes the small matter of an Edinburgh derby at Easter Road on Saturday.

Following hot on the heels of the 4-0 Scottish Cup semi-final win over the Easter Road men, Hearts will be keen to stamp their authority on their city neighbours once again but, more importantly, it also gives them the opportunity to open an eight-point gap over Rangers, who don't face Celtic until the following day.

That would all but seal their place in the Champions League qualifiers next term but Gordon knows Hibs will be doing everything in their power to prevent that from unfolding.

He said: "Being eight points ahead would be a massive advantage for us and it would ask some really serious questions of Rangers.

"If we could get to that stage we would be very happy but that is still a long way away and the one thing that we can be sure of is that Hibs won't want to be doing us any favours. They are still battling to see if they can get a European spot themselves and they will want to make it as tough as they possibly can for us.

"They are just like us in that they don't like to lose an Edinburgh derby but we will go down there and give it our best shot and hopefully get the three points that we need."

Taken from the Scotsman