Hearts manager Craig Levein said talks over Kyle Lafferty's potential move to Rangers remain ongoing.

The Tynecastle club rejected an initial £200,000 offer from the Ibrox side three weeks ago but Levein confirmed discussions continue to take place.

The former Scotland boss insisted a deal was "not inevitable" and refused to say whether Lee Wallace might be used as a makeweight in any transfer.

He said: "We're still speaking to Rangers about the situation. I don't want to go into any details. We're in discussions all the time.

"Obviously the situation is not of our making and we'll see what happens. There's no point in me going over any details.

"Things are ongoing. It's not inevitable."

The 30-year-old scored the winner against Celtic last weekend and despite suggestions the striker is keen on a return to Ibrox, Levein maintained that Lafferty is still fully focused on his role at Hearts.

Levein said: "He seems happy enough. I've not had any problems with him.

"He certainly looked to be smiling on Saturday anyway, that's for sure."

Levein was delighted with his side's victory over Celtic last weekend but was left to rue an injury to captain Christophe Berra.

The Hearts manager said he'll now look to bring in another defender after Berra was ruled out for six months.

He said of the injury: "He's taken it better than I have. He's fairly philosophical about it. It's his first major injury in what's been a long and distinguished career.

"I'll probably need another centre-half for the season by the time Christophe gets back and gets up to full speed. We'll look for a player to come in for a year.

"We will miss him on the field, he'll still be the captain and run the dressing room but we'll miss him as a player.

"I think we'll struggle to bring someone in at the same level.

"My overriding thought on centre-backs is we want to bring in a good one, they're always better than the ones who aren't so good."

Hearts travel to East End Park on Saturday to take on Dunfermline in the League Cup and Levein said they won't be underestimating their opponents after they knocked his side out of the competition last year.

He added: "I know Allan and Sandy, there's a strong Hearts connection there. They've started the season well.

"They went through their League Cup group unbeaten. They are obviously in form and I certainly won't underestimate them."