Jim Jefferies expecting Hearts to produce another rousing tie

Little has been able to put Hearts off their stride of late. If local rivals Hibernian and the flu virus which has laid low so many members of the first team squad could not deflect the team from its purpose, then a few burst pipes can easily be dismissed as an inconvenience rather than a major setback.

• The postponement of Sunday's tie allows Jim Jefferies the luxury of a fuller squad to select his side from this evening. Picture: SNS

It is therefore no surprise to find manager Jim Jefferies in upbeat mood yesterday, despite the possibility of other members of his admittedly well-furnished squad having fallen to the virus that is proving hard to eliminate from their Riccarton academy. Lee Wallace and Dawid Kucharski are the latest to report feeling poorly, with the former having been sent away from Riccarton yesterday morning.

"Some have managed to shake it off quickly, others have not," said Jefferies.

Ian Black, Darren Barr, Stephen Elliott and Gary Glen are now back in contention, with the 48-hour delay appearing to have aided Hearts' preparations ahead of tonight's fourth round Scottish Cup clash against St Johnstone, originally scheduled for Sunday.

The quartet had been doubts at the weekend due to illness. While Jefferies would have preferred to see the game staged on Sunday he was sanguine about the need to re-arrange the fixture for tonight. Indeed, he has reservations about games staged on a Sunday.

"Don't get me wrong I wanted the game to go ahead," he said yesterday.

"But I think the good thing from our point of view is that we don't have to wait a week or ten days to play. I know all the reasons for it, television revenue and the like, but I tend to think Sunday games can lack the usual atmosphere.

"People are going back to work and they are often on a bit of a downer. When you look back at the New Year's day game against Hibs, people were in an upbeat frame of mind. I think that has a lot to do with the atmosphere which is then created.

"A night game at Tynecastle, especially cup ties, are always a bit extra special," he added. "I understand why we have Sunday football but I always feel that when I am not involved and go and watch games on Sundays that the atmosphere is a little bit flatter. On a Saturday it's different because people are going out at night and know they have a long lie the next day. They are just a little bit more upbeat. I think that can have an effect on the atmosphere."

There should be a buoyancy about the Hearts fans whenever their team play at present. Jefferies is clearly enjoying himself as well As he approaches the first anniversary since his return to Tynecastle as manager.

He was, however, frustrated on Saturday, when a player-scouting excursion had to be aborted because the game in which the target was playing fell to the weather.But Jefferies was at Ibrox last night to watch Rangers take on his former club Kilmarnock, two sides whom Hearts are scheduled to play within the next 11 days.

Indeed, by the end of this month much could well have been revealed about the authenticity of Hearts' title challenge. They currently trail leaders Celtic by six points. Both the Parkhead side and Rangers are due to be faced by 29 January, the date which marks Jefferies' first anniversary. Dundee United, Kilmarnock and tonight's opponents St Johnstone must all be tackled in league fixtures too before the end of January. Hearts' first appointment in February is a trip to Ibrox.

"We want to play the games," said Jefferies. "They are coming thick and fast now for everyone. What I have said is that the next three or four weeks will reveal a lot about the squad, and their belief.

"It's a challenge for us. And you want that. Rangers, Celtic, Dundee United and Kilmarnock are all going well. Then we will have a clearer picture in terms of our ambitions."

Hearts' Scottish Cup hopes rest on tonight. The Tynecastle side had already been knocked out of the tournament by the time Jefferies joined last year, falling to Aberdeen at Pittodrie in the fourth round. They must overcome another Scottish Premier League club this evening. Hearts drew with St Johnstone on the opening day of the season at Tynecastle and won a scrappy match 2-0 in Perth in November.

"We had four or five players out at the start of the season," recalled Jefferies. "I think we have improved greatly since then. The game up there last time was on a terrible pitch but we ground out a result.

"It's a tough tie but at least we know each other," he added, with reference to the struggles endured by some SPL sides at the weekend.

"Sometimes when you go in against a lower division team you don't know what to expect, and it can be difficult. But we know the opponents well and we can treat it like another SPL game really."