Jim Jefferies won't say if Nade and Goncalves will play for Hearts again

JIM JEFFERIES today refused to confirm whether Jose Goncalves and Christian Nade will play for Hearts again despite recalling both players to the team at Tannadice yesterday.

A series of injury problems forced the manager's hand and he reinstated Goncalves to the starting XI and placed Nade on the substitutes' bench for the 1-0 defeat to Dundee United. However, he gave no guarantees on whether they would remain part of his plans.

Defender Goncalves is still at loggerheads with the Hearts hierarchy over his refusal to sign a contract extension, which had prompted Jefferies to say he would not play for the club again unless terms were agreed.

Nade was the subject of an internal inquiry after punching team-mate Ian Black at Celtic Park last month. The outcome has yet to be made public, with Jefferies admitting both he and Goncalves only played yesterday out of necessity.

"It was a case of needs must," he said. "Nade's situation has been dragging on a bit too long. He was away for personal reasons due to a family problem in France. He came back last week and was training with us. We looked at what we've got with injuries and decided to bring him back into the squad on the bench.

"Nothing has changed, it's an internal matter that is going to be resolved. Once it is we will make a statement."

Goncalves took the field having only trained for two days following a thigh injury but Jefferies said that whether he plays again is down to the player. "Jose is in discussions with the club, he's been made a very good offer," continued the manager. "If he doesn't take it I can only understand that he doesn't want to be here. I hope he changes his mind because I want him to be here. Hopefully, he will. It's up to him.

"The club will still have discussions. We've said many times that he's been made a good offer. Personally, I don't know why he's turned it down. He must have a reason, whether he's thinking of moving on or whatever. I said you're better to concentrate on players who want to be here, but these players weren't available yesterday because of injuries."

Ismael Bouzid, whom Hearts hoped to have available yesterday, has injured the other hamstring to that he damaged in last month's Co-operative Cup semi-final and is expected to miss the rest of this month's fixtures.