Hearts defender John Souttar has become the latest of Craig Levein's key men to pledge his future to Tynecastle.

The Hearts boss has been eager to secure the spine of his side as he looks to build a platform for future success and has already succeeded in tying down Christophe Berra and Michael Smith on fresh terms

Now Scotland international Souttar – who had 18 months left on his previous deal – has agreed a contract extension that will see him remain in Gorgie until the summer of 2022.

The 22-year-old former Dundee United centre-back was badly missed during a three-month lay-off following hip surgery, but returned against St Johnstone on Saturday and Levein was delighted to have him back.

Speaking ahead of Friday's trip to Kilmarnock and before news of Souttar's deal was confirmed, he said: "It's hard to have a sustainable challenge without having stability. That's where we're trying to get to.

"We've made some steps forward, with Christophe and Michael both signing a new contract. I don't want to say too much but we're very, very close to John Souttar signing a new contract as well.

"There are two or three others as well that I want to put on long-term deals and that is solely based on trying to get this stability that we're after.

"I was so chuffed with John's performance on Saturday. To have him back in the team makes me feel good."

Levein admits he was sad to see his Hibernian sparring partner Neil Lennon depart the scene in the capital this week.

The pair had their run-ins, most notably over Levein's claim that Edinburgh's 'natural order' had been restored following a Hearts derby win.

Yet Levein has sympathy for the Northern Irishman.

Lennon's departure means 19 of Scotland's 42 league clubs have changed managers this season, and the Hearts boss said: "I don't know enough to talk about the detail of what happened. I can say that I really like Neil as a person.

"It's quite difficult when we were in the positions we're in to have a great friendship. But I think he's a decent, straightforward guy and I've always had a lot of time for him.

"It's sad. There's a great deal of empathy amongst the managers in Scotland and when one leaves – and Martin Canning is away – it's always difficult."

"The turnover is crazy. We are trying to sign our players on long-term contracts and bring through young players because we have a long-term plan. The reason for it is to stop this constant change-over of managers.

"Every time you do it, it costs you money and that is money that's not going in to develop the squad.

"For me, the way forward is continuity."