Hearts aim to turn up heat on United

HEARTS aim to intensify the pressure on Dundee United by beating Kilmarnock this Saturday, thereby forcing the Tayside club to overcome title-chasing Celtic 24 hours later or admit defeat in the race for Europe.

Three points at Rugby Park would edge Hearts to within touching distance of a third-place finish in the SPL. Should United fail to beat Celtic at Parkhead the following day, they would be unable to overhaul the points difference with only three games remaining.

Hearts are currently third in the league table and seven points better off than United. Should they secure victory in Ayrshire, the only way their rivals can maintain a challenge for the Europa League berth is by defeating Celtic.

"We've been thinking about that for the last few weeks now. We need to get that win," said the Hearts midfielder Eggert Jonsson. "It was really disappointing being 3-0 up at home and then losing three goals to Motherwell.

"We have only got ourselves to blame because at that point we should have had it wrapped up. We need to tie up third place and finish it off now."

Marius Zaliukas, the Hearts captain, organised an impromptu paintball session for the squad yesterday to help banish the disappointment of that Motherwell result. "It was good banter. The whole team came together for team spirit," continued Jonsson.

"It was Marius's idea. He's the captain and it's the sort of thing he does. He takes care of all those things and he does it well. All the guys turn into 12-year-old boys when they get out there. They played Scotland against foreigners and that spiced it up a bit.

"I broke my cheekbone about a month ago. It's healed but the physio told me not to be involved."

Meanwhile, Spanish winger Suso is suspended for Hearts' matches with Rangers and Celtic next month as a result of his booking against Motherwell. He has incurred a two-game SFA ban but has also been carrying an injury and may not feature again this season.