Hearts will get things right in derby – Jason

Published on Monday 15 March 2010 09:03

JASON THOMSON today apologised to Hearts supporters for Saturday's insipid display at Motherwell – before pledging that he and his colleagues will adopt an entirely different mindset for Saturday's Edinburgh derby with Hibernian.

A slow start coupled with slack defending saw Motherwell secure an early 2-0 lead which set the tone for their eventual 3-1 victory. Hearts manager Jim Jefferies criticised "schoolboy" errors from his charges and labelled their overall performance "disgraceful".

Thomson acknowledged that he and his colleagues had not reached the standards expected of them and promised to take the frustration out on their Capital rivals this weekend.

"We let the fans who travelled through to Motherwell down big time," he said. "We were 2-0 down in the first 20 minutes and we have to put that right against Hibs. We know the supporters will be right behind us. Tynecastle will be packed. There shouldn't be a problem with motivation playing with a club like this. We're trying to finish in the top six so we need to be up for every game. There's no better game than the derby to show that."

Hearts are awaiting news on Calum Elliot's knee injury after the striker was replaced at half-time at Fir Park. He appeared to fall awkwardly while challenging for the ball in the penalty area with several Motherwell defenders.