Gary Glen itching to play, but knows he can't displace in-form strikers

The 20-year-old striker is yet to feature for the first team this term, with the substitutes' bench the closest he has come to the action due to the form of Kevin Kyle, Calum Elliot and Stephen Elliott.

Glen turned down the opportunity to join Irn Bru Second Division side Brechin on a month-long loan deal, preferring to fight for his place at Tynecastle. But he knows he must be ready to perform as soon as his chance comes.

Glen said: "The one thing you want to do is play, but the boys have been doing really well and the strikers have been scoring. It's hard just now, I've just got to be patient and bide my time.

"The gaffer has taken me aside before. I understand the situation. He has brought Kevin in, he's brought Stephen in. He's giving them their chance and they're doing well so I've just got to be patient just now, and I know that if I do get my chance I've got to grab it and I need to perform."

Hearts have won three straight games - defeating Hibs, Celtic and St Johnstone - and lie third in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League ahead of their meeting with bottom club Hamilton.

Jefferies' side have scored six times without conceding in the winning run, with Kyle, Elliott and Elliot all playing their role in the victories following a 3-0 reverse to Kilmarnock last month.

Despite being on the margins of the first team, Glen is happy at Tynecastle and believes he is learning from Scotland international Kyle and Republic of Ireland front man Elliott.

"At this moment I would really like to stay here," added Glen, who made his Hearts debut five days before his 17th birthday. ''I believe this is where I should be playing football and given my chance I'll take it. It's good bringing in new strikers and you get more competition. You play alongside them in training and you watch them playing.

"It's different with Kevin Kyle, because he's a big player and gets loads of headers, but Stephen Elliott and Calum Elliot play the same kind of game as me. Stephen Elliott's movement is different class. To see that in training has really helped me.

"Just now they're doing really well and if they keep doing what they're doing there's a great chance we will be right near the top come the end of the season."

Hearts beat Accies 4-0 in August, but Glen anticipates a closer game today. "It'll be a hard-fought match," he said. "Away from home they're doing better than they are at home so it'll be a tough one. At the start of the season we went there and beat them 4-0, but it will be a different story this time and we need to be up for it."

Hamilton manager Billy Reid will assess the fitness of Nigel Hasselbaink and Mark McLaughlin ahead of the game, which kicks off at 1pm to avoid a clash with the Scotland v South Africa international at nearby Murrayfield. Skipper Alex Neil and long-term casualty James Gibson remain on the sidelines.