No hiding place as hurt Hearts look to bounce back stronger

The Tynecastle players headed for a swim yesterday following their exertions the previous night, however team management are determined that the 4-0 reverse in Glasgow should not sink their ambitions of challenging the Old Firm. "It's only one game" is the mantra and much confidence can be restored with victory tomorrow afternoon.

Jim Jefferies, the Hearts manager, is seeking a reaction to the defeat which ended his side's unbeaten run, but he should be mindful of St Johnstone's own impressive record in Gorgie. Not since October 2001 have the Perth club lost away at Hearts. They won there in the Scottish Cup just two-and-a-half weeks ago and are presently enjoying an impressive sequence of just one defeat in their last nine matches.

As Hearts lick their wounds from Celtic Park, Jefferies hopes the pain is sufficient to prompt an angry response. Beating St Johnstone would re-invigorate everyone and tee things up nicely for a visit to Ibrox next Wednesday. However, another slip would provide further ammunition for those desperate to decry the challenge from Edinburgh.

In that sense, much rests on tomorrow's encounter for Hearts. To challenge the Glasgow duopoly it is essential to emerge from defeats with the kind of gutsiness that has become the trademark of the Old Firm. "Celtic are the only team to have beaten us away from home and if we go this season with Celtic beating us away from home a couple of times, we would be saying it's a marvellous record," said Jefferies.

"There is a chance for us to bounce back and try and go on as good a run as we've been on. I said to the players you won't win every point between now and the end of the season, it's about how you react. There is no doom and gloom. We went into the game in a good situation with the Rangers win and then we played a team that had one of their best performances this season. They were too good for us, aided by a poor defensive record in the second half.

"Celtic were excellent as were Rangers on Saturday. To come out of those two games with three points out of the six is not doom and gloom. It would be great if we got the six. We would be sitting here asking the question if we are going to win the league. We have nothing to feel down about, it's about bouncing back and the players have shown a lot of character. The run of the last 12 games has been fantastic.

"Wednesday was (a reality check) for everybody else. I said to you when you're going up against Celtic and Rangers that they're not going to make it easy. It's something you can learn from if we keep in touch with them. The next time they come round, you have to know what to expect and they've had a taste of it."Jefferies addressed his players in the Parkhead dressing room to make clear his discontent at full-time. Defensive naivety - like holding a high offside line against pacey Celtic strikers - irked the manager. He had seen only three goals conceded in Hearts' previous 11 games and was perhaps entitled to expect a bit more resistance.

He has gone to great lengths recently to play down all talk of a title challenge, pinpointing Rangers and Celtic as the established pace-setters in Scotland. Hearts will strive to remain on their coat-tails having got to within seven points of the SPL summit at the weekend. Jefferies admitted that the notion of a championship challenge must be forgotten if his players are to stay in touch at the top.

"I spoke to the players after the game and it's all about now. The game will be forgotten about on Wednesday if we bounce back against St Johnstone. We aren't any closer to the Old Firm when they play at the best of their form.

"With Rangers in the first 25 minutes, they got too many chances. Celtic in the last 25 minutes got too many chances and punished us. We didn't react properly in making daft decisions and pushing up too high, we got caught with it. You won't get away with that at Celtic Park, we will learn from it and take it on the chin. They've shown when they're at the top of their game that they're difficult games for anybody.

"What we have got to do is that, when it comes round again, you will know what to expect if you're in the same position again. People said it was a three-horse race, no-one in here has been saying that. Celtic have used that as a motivational tool. Crossing the line and reacting to that is not easy because they have good players. We talked about it afterwards, about what we've achieved and that the players maybe let themselves down a little bit on Wednesday night. Put it this way, if we win on Saturday no-one will bother about Wednesday."

Jefferies may take the opportunity to refresh his line-up for tomorrow but has some injury problems to contend with. Of those who could be reintroduced to the team, Darren Barr has a groin problem and Jason Thomson a hand injury. Kevin Kyle was due to be assessed before a decision is taken on his fitness.

"He is improving but improving slowly," said Jefferies.