Andy Halliday names Hearts star he would play 'every week' due to key ability none outside of Celtic and Rangers has

Andy Halliday has named Barrie McKay as the Hearts teammate he would play every week - insisting that the Scot is a 'match winner' when he turns on the style.

McKay has typically struggled for consistency throughout his career, but there is no doubting his ability to switch a game in a heartbeat. Take the Scottish Cup semi-final in 2016 for example; his long-range strike put Rangers 2-1 up against Celtic despite being a division below their bitter rivals.

Since then, he has moved on to Nottingham Forest, Swansea and Fleetwood but struggle to properly nail down a starting spot south of the border. A return to Hearts came to fruition - and that is where McKay has begun to make a name for himself. Becoming a star performer this season as they become the acknowledged 'third-force' of Scottish football, McKay has rightly earned the plaudits of pundits and fans alike with four goals and four assists in the Scottish Premiership so far this term.

And that has left Halliday claiming that he is one of the only 'matchwinners' outside of the Old Firm. He told the Open Goal podcast: "If I was the Hearts manager then I'd play Barrie McKay every week.

"If I'm a manager then I'm playing certain players all the time because you know it only takes five minutes from them to win the game. Outside of the Old Firm, how many players can you realistically say are matchwinners?

"I would say that Baz [McKay] is ours. You [Si Ferry] were at the Dundee United game and for the first 60 or 70 minutes he wasn't great but then 20 minutes of him being him and he creates three or four chances, two assists and wins you the game."

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