Talk of a title challenge from Gorgie had been quietly gathering momentum as Hearts recaptured their early season form and notched four consecutive wins with four clean sheets, but Saturday afternoon proved to be a reminder that this undoubtedly talented Hearts squad is still a work in progress.

There was enough in the opening half hour to demonstrate why Robbie Neilson’s side are competing at the top end of the table and Arnaud Djoum’s 24th minute header was no less than they deserved, but with top scorer Juanma suspended and Billy King having to leave the field due to injury before half time Hearts struggled to create many clear opportunities and could actually have lost the game after Rory Loy equalised with just under 25 minutes to go.

With Juanma missing Djoum was given the licence to push forward and join Osman Sow in attack and he put the Jambos in front with a well-placed header from a Callum Paterson cross. It was his third goal in six games and the Belgian admitted that such a run of form was not something that he was renowned for.

“I think this is the first time this has happened to me,” said the 26-year-old. “I think maybe once in Holland I scored three or four times in a row like this, but it is a long time since I have been on a run of scoring goals like this.

“I am happy to score again but we are very disappointed with the result. At home to Dundee we believe that we have enough quality to win the game.

“Here at Tynecastle it is a great feeling to score in front of our fans, but I cannot enjoy it too much because the result was not good enough.”

Djoum has made a strong impression on the Hearts supporters since signing for the club in September after leaving Polish side Lech Poznan and those in charge of the club are currently in the process of trying to tie the Belgian to a longer term deal as his current contract only runs until January.

“We are speaking with the club, my agent is talking to them and I think we are getting closer to finding a solution,” said the former Belgium under 20 international. “I think you can see that I enjoy playing here and we have a good team and a good coach so I feel happy here and am happy to stay.”

The minute’s silence prior to the match for the victim of the Paris attacks provided a certain degree of perspective for the day’s events and it was particularly significant for Djoum who admits to feeling worried about the welfare of his family living back in Belgium.

“It is hard times just now because I have family in Belgium and my parents do not live far away from these type of people,” said Djoum. “I am always thinking of them because you never know what can happen.

“It is really difficult [to concentrate on football] because your family is everything and I am always thinking about them.

“Growing up in Brussels I never experienced these problems but now it is not safe and my family and friends are scared there so I hope it will be better soon. “

For Dundee, a point at Tynecastle gives them a platform to build on after a rather stop-start season. The manner in which they stopped Hearts creating any chances in the second half was particularly impressive considering both starting centre backs had to be replaced. Both James McPake and Julen Etxabeguren were substituted inside the last 20 minutes, but the latter was quick to alleviate any fears about his condition for Friday’s derby match against St Johnstone.

“I was just tired and twisted my ankle but nothing serious,” said the former East Fife and Real Sociedad defender. “I have been back training all week and felt fine on the pitch until I hurt my ankle, but I will be fine.”

Dundee are now five matches without a win but Etxabeguren insists that the Tayside club can take a great deal of positivity from the second half showing against an in-form Hearts side and believes that with a bit more care they could have gone on to take all three points.

“It was a hard game and it is a hard stadium to play in,” he added. “We didn’t do so well in the first half but in the second half we could have won the game.

“We had one or two opportunities to win the game towards the end and they did not create any chances in the second half so we could have won but it is a good point.”