John McGlynn calls for a response from Hearts

By COLLEEN STRACHAN
Published on 23/02/2013 12:00

JOHN McGLYNN has ordered his side to step up a gear against Inverness Caley Thistle.

The Hearts manager expects Terry Butcher’s men to arrive at Tynecastle this afternoon fired up and eager to get back on track after last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Motherwell.

Having seen Hearts lose by an identical scoreline against ­Kilmarnock last Saturday, McGlynn will also be looking for a response from his players. “Inverness always make it difficult,” he said.

“If you look at the league table, you would think it has been a great season for them and, up until a few weeks ago, things were going really well for them.

“But since then they have been knocked out of both cup competitions and they have had a couple of disappointing results recently in the league.

“Nonetheless, they are still in a decent position and Terry will be looking to stabilise them.

“He will be looking for a response from his side after their defeat last weekend, but, equally, I will be looking for a response from my side, too. It could turn out to be a tight game.”

Meanwhile, Jamie Walker stressed the importance of the club’s supporters staying behind their side even when things are not going their way.

There were boos at the end of last weekend’s game against Killie as some fans chose to voice their frustrations, but Walker is keen for them to keep the faith with the team.

The young Hearts winger said: “They’ve been brilliant with me since I came into the team and I just hope they stick by us. Hopefully next season we can kick on.

“I think the fans can see we’re in a transitional period. They just need to stick by us. We’re going to have a few bad results along the way, but we could win the cup and get into the top six.”