Riccarton has been the Glen of tranquillity for Hearts striker

IT would probably be understandable were the Hearts players burdened by the weight of expectation recently.

Unbeaten runs, victories over Hibs and the Old Firm and a monumental surge towards the top of the SPL led to increased pressure and demands from those desperate for a three-team title race. However, according to striker Gary Glen, Riccarton has been a tension-free zone all winter.

An unbeaten run of 11 games instilled belief and camaraderie within the first-team squad and filtered out even to those, such as Glen, on the fringes.

That sequence ended abruptly at Celtic Park on Wednesday evening as a 4-0 defeat added a dose of humility to predictions of a Tynecastle title triumph this season.

But the Hearts players are far from despondent and, following this afternoon's encounter with St Johnstone, will look ahead with confidence to Wednesday's joust with the other half of the Old Firm at Ibrox.

"I don't think we've felt any pressure," said Glen. "We've been high in confidence and we know what we're capable of now. The boys are enjoying their football and we just need to go out and keep showing that level of performance.

"If we get a result at Ibrox we will be even more confident in our ability. We are looking forward to Wednesday.

"The Celtic game was disappointing. With the run of games we had been on, confidence was high but sometimes you have these games. You just need to bounce back.

"No-one has come out and said we are going to challenge for the title.

"Obviously, it would be good to be up there but we just have to do things to the best of our ability. The boys have done really well with the resources we have. Now we have to pick ourselves up.

"After being on that great run we've had one bad result. We aren't going to let ourselves get down about that, we are still high on confidence. We're going to show everyone that we are capable of doing it."

Hearts' response, both today and in midweek, will give a clear indication of whether they might ultimately muscle in on the top two places in the SPL.

"If we are going to end up challenging then we need to start reacting to defeats and bouncing back from games we lose. We can't let it get to us because if it does we are going to struggle," said Glen.

"The gaffer, Billy Brown and Locke have been great since coming in.

"They've brought more togetherness about the squad and everyone is confident right now. The gaffer said to us that a lot of people might have expected us to draw with Rangers and Celtic. But we beat Rangers and, unfortunately, lost to Celtic so we have three points from those two games instead of two."We are still in the mix."

Glen's appearances have been restricted because of injury for much of this season and he is keen to make an impression during the second half of the campaign.

Opportunities to impress coaching staff are at a premium when the team is winning games with a certain swagger, but injuries to colleagues who play in his position may allow the 20-year-old back into the side.

"There are a few injured boys right now and when everyone comes back we'll have a really strong squad," he added.

We have a good squad just now but obviously it will be even stronger when they come back.

"We just need to look forward to the games coming up.

"Kevin Kyle is out just now, as is Calum Elliot. I've had a few sub appearances recently and I just need to try and do my best whenever I get a chance."