Hearts make Andy Webster captain after Marius Zaliukas ban

Webster, who captained Hearts in his first spell at Tynecastle, was handed the armband after Marius Zaliukas was sent off in the first half of the 2-2 derby draw at Hibernian on Sunday.

Jefferies told Hearts TV: "I think he's a natural successor to Marius if he's not available, so he'll lead the team out on Saturday in Marius' absence."

The Hearts manager expects goalkeeper Marian Kello to recover from a back spasm in time for the visit of Motherwell. Adrian Mrowiec returns from suspension, while Suso Santana (knee) and Eggert Jonsson (cheekbone) both hope to be available.

Meanwhile, winger David Templeton admits he is desperate to recapture the form that led to Craig Levein considering him for a Scotland call-up.

The 22-year-old won the Clydesdale Bank SPL Young Player of the Month award for November and December with a string of eye-catching performances and goals, most notably his superb solo effort against Hibs.

During that period, Scotland manager Levein even acknowledged he was keeping tabs on the exciting playmaker, while the Hearts coaching staff were wary of January bids as Templeton's stock continued to soar.

Templeton is still waiting on a Scotland call and, by his own admission, the former Stenhousemuir player concedes he has been left frustrated by his displays since the turn of the year.

Templeton, who made way for Jason Thomson after 36 minutes following Marius Zaliukas' red card in Sunday's 2-2 draw at Hibs, is a candidate for the club's Young Player of the Season award, but insists returning to form on the pitch is his priority.

He said: "I would love to win the award; I've never won anything like that before. It would be great if I manage to get it. There is more to come from me, though. I had been playing well in November and December when I won those SPL awards, but after that I went off the boil and didn't play as well.

"Teams would also double up on me and make it hard for me. But I've just got to try and deal with that and get back to how I was playing in November, December. This is my first full season as I fractured my foot at the start of last term, and hopefully I can get that consistency that I'm doing it week-in, week-out going into next season."

The weekend's draw felt like a moral victory for Hearts after they had to play with ten men for an hour, and Templeton added: "All the boys were buzzing and I was the same. I was just happy we managed to get a good result, especially playing with ten men for such a long time. I was thrilled at the end. It's a good point."