When it comes to someone to turn to for advice, Hearts keeper Jamie MacDonald can think of nobody better than his former Tynecastle team-mate Craig Gordon.

The pair became firm friends as they progressed through the ranks in Gorgie and although the Scotland No. 1 has since moved to Sunderland, they remain in regular contact.

At the age of 26 Gordon is already established as one of Europe's top goalkeepers and Jamie is pleased to be able to pick the phone up to him either just for a social chat or for career advice.

The former Hearts captain is racing against time to play a part in Saturday's friendly at Tynecastle and speaking to the media at Riccarton this morning ahead of the Sunderland clash, Jamie said: "I worked with Craig for five or six years and we still speak regularly.

"He's struggling a bit for Saturday but he's hoping to get 15 minutes or so. I have never played against him so it would be great if we were both involved. It has been one thing after another for him which has been unfortunate.

"He's a great person to have to talk to and I can discuss anything with him. He's told me just to work hard and hopefully I'll get the breaks. That's what happened to him when he was younger and he managed to stay in for a long period of time."

The former Scotland U21 shot-stopper played in the 0-0 draw against Plymouth Argyle at Home Park last week and he's hoping to remain involved in boss Csaba Laszlo's plans as the Jambos prepare to take on the Black Cats in Saturday's glamour friendly.

He played a handful of first-team games last season and having signed a new three-year contract in the summer, he's hoping to play a more prominent role in the forthcoming campaign.

"Hopefully I will get a chance to stake my claim for the season," he added.

"As a keeper - or any player - you need a run of five or six games to show what you can do and perform at a consistently high level.

"Two or three of us shared the games last season and this season we also Mark Ridgers added to the first team squad so there's four of us competing for a place.

"You just have to work as hard as you can in training and hopefully get the nod."

Jamie had a successful period on loan with Queen of the South two years ago and depending on how he gets on this term at Tynecastle he says he might consider another similar move to ensure regular top team action.

"Last season was my first year back and I came back not expecting to play, so I was quite happy with the way the season went.

"I'll see how this year goes and hopefully I can keep progressing. After that have I may look at things and maybe think about a loan. But Hearts is a great club and I want to stay here."

On Hearts.TV today, watch Csaba and Jamie's pre-match Press conference from the Football Academy.