Hearts boss warns Bairns will be stiff test of cup ambitions

HEARTS boss Jim Jefferies warned today that his side cannot afford to underestimate Falkirk tomorrow night and insisted they must treat their opponents as if they were an SPL team.

The Tynecastle outfit, who fought back from a goal down to beat Inverness 3-1 at the weekend, travel to face Steven Pressley's Bairns in the third round of the Co-operative Insurance Cup.

Pressley's side were relegated from the top flight last season but Jefferies knows that the First Division outfit will be determined to prove they can still hold their own against the Jambos.

He said: "Falkirk were playing in the SPL just last season and we have got to treat them like a Premier League club.

"I certainly think they will approach the game like an SPL side and will maybe raise their game a notch or two and we have got to be aware of that.

"If we are going to win cups then we are going to have to go to places like Falkirk and get a result. You know you are going to get tough matches along the way and this will be one of them.

"We will not be taking it lightly. In the last round, we were able to involve a couple of the boys against Elgin, we were at home that day, but this is a completely different kettle of fish. Falkirk are a very good side and we will have to be at our best if we are to get through to the next round."

Jefferies conceded that Rudi Skacel is again unlikely to be involved as the Czech player still feels short of match fitness.

Skacel was released by Greek side Larissa in June and Jefferies continued: "He still thinks that he is a bit short yet, he has not had a lot of games recently and there's no point in rushing him because that is how you get injuries.

"He's been training the last couple of days so we will wait and see how he is in the morning and then make a decision but the Motherwell game could be the one he's looking at right now."

Meanwhile, Marius Zaliukas returned to training yesterday but the Lithuanian will not be included in Jefferies' plans for the Falkirk game either until his uncertain future at the club can be sorted out.

The defender is on loan from Kaunas until the end of the year but was called to Lithuania earlier this month to meet club owner Vladimir Romanov for contract negotiations but they broke down amid claims that the player was demanding unrealistically high wages as part of any new deal.