STEVE BANKS today hammered home his commitment to Hearts by insisting that he wants to end his career at Tynecastle.
The goalkeeper was brought to Tynecastle mainly as cover for Craig Gordon three years ago but has gone on to establish himself as the club's No.1 stopper.
Since Gordon's departure to Sunderland at the beginning of the season, Banks has successful
ly fought off challenges from Eduardas Kurskis and Anthony Basso for the gloves.
The former Gillingham and Bolton stopper was rumoured to be on the verge of a move to Rangers in January to join former Hearts keepers' coach Jim Stewart.
But instead he penned a two-and-a-half year extension to his current contract and was also appointed goalkeeping coach after working towards his badges.
Banks is a firm favourite with both the players and supporters at Hearts and the feeling is clearly mutual for the Englishman.
Stephen Frail has yet to find out where his future lies, Banks is keen to remain in Gorgie for the forseeable future.
He admitted: "I'd like to finish my career at Hearts. I feel physically fitter than I have done for a long time and metally I feel better than ever, which is a major thing for me as goalkeeping is about mental stability and how you approach games.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Hearts, I have made a lot of friends at the club and am quite settled where I'm living so I was quite happy to extend my stay.
"If I keep in shape physically then I don't see any reason why I can't play on for a while yet."
The full article contains 279 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
