Hearts: Turnaround at Tynecastle will keep Jim Jefferies jolly

AN AIR of quiet assurance emanated from Jim Jefferies as he discussed Hearts' SPL encounter with St Mirren tomorrow. Last week's result at Pittodrie will certainly have helped his demeanour. Now it's about building momentum.

Like every other manager in Scotland, Jefferies does not possess the wherewithal to challenge the Old Firm. What he does have is several factors conspiring in his favour at present as he strives to establish Hearts as the country's third force once more. Consequently, the manager is perhaps slightly more relaxed, although no less motivated, ahead of two consecutive home fixtures against St Mirren and Kilmarnock.

Marius Zaliukas is back from banishment and contributed heavily to the clean sheet against Aberdeen. Kevin Kyle is fit, scoring goals and proving the all-round handful SPL defences dread him to be. He has struck three times in his last four outings and looks the ideal foil for another of Hearts' in-form strikers, Calum Elliot.

With Andy Driver and Lee Wallace still to return from injury and Rudi Skacel now influencing midfield, Jefferies knows he has the resources to take third place provided his players achieve consistency. The next two games, therefore, could prove pivotal.

Hearts remain without a home win this season but three points tomorrow and again when Kilmarnock visit Tynecastle on Sunday week would accord them serious impetus, the kind Jefferies has been searching for since returning to the club in January.

Presently, he looks like a man who believes his players are ready for a power surge.

"The mood has been fantastic this week," he said. "It was a good performance at Aberdeen as well as a good result. Everyone was buzzing on Monday and we've carried that on through the week.

"A lot has been made of the fact we haven't won at home, but in all the games we've played fairly well with the number of injuries we've had. It's the results that have been wrong, that's what we're trying to put right. The Aberdeen result was a great result, but it makes it even better if you follow it up with another win. Going into this game, our confidence is up."

A fearless and motivated Hearts team at Tynecastle is always a force to be reckoned with. St Mirren's players, without an away win all season, would be entitled to a pang of trepidation as their team coach draws up on McLeod Street. It is almost three years since they last won in Gorgie, and their only victory under new manager Danny Lennon remains the 1-0 defeat of Hibernian back in August.

They must contend with the fact Hearts' early-season problems appear to be gradually dispersing, a pleasing result of which is the partnership developing between Kyle and Calum Elliot. It was the latter's pinpoint cross which created the winning goal at Aberdeen, offering further evidence that he may finally be ready to realise his well-publicised potential.

"Calum's had a great start to the season," opined Jefferies. "He got injured in training and was out for a couple of games when we needed him. That was a blow because he started the season on fire. His work rate for the team is exceptional and it was that way last Saturday.

"There are a lot of players who like playing with big Kevin because they know he's going to put himself about. What pleased me on Saturday was there was no long ball stuff. We've been emphasising to the team about getting the ball down and getting it wide. You only need to look at the goal, it was a great sweeping move. It came from an area we want the ball to come from for Kevin, and he was on the end of it. You saw his worth with an unbelievable header which won us the game.

"You've seen some comments this week saying he's a hell of a guy to play against. He doesn't half compete, and compete well. Defenders know they're in for a tough time with him."

With Kyle and Calum Elliot performing in tandem, new signing Stephen Elliott remains a peripheral figure after recovering from injury. Likewise Gary Glen, who has yet to feature this season. The forward line has been arguably the most stable area of Jefferies' team, so it was no surprise that he should heave a huge sigh of relief at Zaliukas' re-appearance last weekend.

The club captain's absence from central defence has been conspicuous by the manner of cheap goals lost against Celtic, Falkirk, Motherwell and Rangers. His importance to Hearts does not justify wage demands in excess of 20,000 a week gross, but perhaps it was slightly underestimated prior to him being ostracised for that very monetary request.

When Vladimir Romanov sanctioned the Lithuanian's return at Pittodrie, he consequently restored the chief orchestrator to Hearts' rearguard.

"We still have two or three key players out and we've had to deal with that," explained Jefferies. "The disruption at the back particularly shows one player can make a big difference. We've had to cover the loss of Lee Wallace and Zaliukas at one time and it's difficult. We were a little bit vulnerable.

"You can look at wee things (improving] but the bottom line us we've got to turn it into results. If we improve the performances and be a little bit more clinical in the last third, that'll come."

Jefferies ended his media briefing joking about player power in football, which, of course, he can afford to do after Zaliukas' muscle flexing over a new contract proved futile.

If his players power forward on the back of another win tomorrow, sightings of Jolly Jim could become a regular occurrence at Riccarton. Events are appearing to conspire in Hearts' favour and no-one is happier about it than the manager.