Jim Jefferies ready to ‘wind up’ his protege Gary Locke

Locke was Jefferies’ skipper Hearts and followed him to Bradford and Kilmarnock, where his mentor handed him his first coaching post.

He joined Jefferies as first-team coach when he returned to Tynecastle in January 2010, but stayed when the veteran boss and assistant Billy Brown left at the start of the season, to be replaced by Paulo Sergio.

“I will be winding him up,” said Jefferies. “I am looking forward to that, to get him going.

“It’s great Hearts kept him on. He’s a young man starting out and with Billy and I moving on, it was important he didn’t take a stance regarding leaving because we had brought him.

“He has his own future to look at and would be invaluable to Paulo Sergio. I think Paulo respected that and Gary has been a big help to him in getting to know the Scottish scene.”

The SPL’s bottom side trail Hibernian by six points with six games left and Jefferies hopes to keep in touch until they play each other after the split.

“That’s the aim,” he said. “We have to pick up as many points as we can. If we are in the hunt going to Easter Road, tensions should be high, the banter between Brown and Jefferies should be better and it should be fun but we have to get into that position first.”

Jefferies got the first glimpse yesterday of his new keeper, Bernardo Dominguez Fernandez. The 32-year-old Spaniard, formerly of SD Huesca, will provide competition and back-up to Chris Smith.

Jefferies said: “He couldn’t get clearance for a wee while and he is a bit rusty. With a few sessions under his belt he will be okay.”