Suso Santana admits he's still getting to grips with Scottish game but is optimistic for season's run-in

• Suso Santana

Pure football has been virtually impossible all winter in Motherwell given their ground currently contains more sand than Suso's native Tenerife. With the early signs of spring finally detectable, the winger would hope for an end to the weather-enforced attrition and a chance to showcase the panache he promised upon arriving in Edinburgh last summer. His chances are slim and none tomorrow.

The 25-year-old would object to being colloquially termed a "sand dancer" but the blunt truth is there is little scope for much else on Motherwell's threadbare pitch.

He toiled for rhythm on the tattered Tannadice surface last Sunday but, to his credit, seems determined to grow accustomed to Scotland's footballing stereotype and accept that fighting, battling qualities are often lauded as the norm. He missed almost two months of football following hernia surgery in October, an injury he believes may have been attributable to the physical demands placed on SPL players. Since returning to fitness he has watched the manager who signed him for Hearts, Csaba Laszlo, make way for Jim Jefferies. All of this while his wife and baby remain 2000 miles away in the Canary Islands.

He refuses to become downbeat but admits being shocked by the amount effort required just to get through the average SPL match.

"The actual amount of running I have to do on the pitch is significantly more than in Spain," he said. "Everybody talks about the physical aspect here but that is the main difference. It's a big challenge because you have to get used to running throughout the whole game. There is hardly ever a breather in SPL matches so obviously I'm trying to get used to that side of it and overcome that challenge.

"I felt I was getting used to it then I had the hernia, which kept me out for a couple of months. All the running might have been one of the contributing causes but I couldn't say for definite. All in all, Scottish football is different from Spanish football but it's about me getting used to that as quickly as possible.

"It's a little bit like starting all over again now I'm back from injury but I'm getting used to the football again and I hope to be in perfect condition for the run-in to the season.

"Csaba was the one who brought me over but circumstances change and that's football. Somebody else came in. I am a player of the club, not a player of any particular manager or coach. I am here to work as hard as possible for the team and for the club. I want to help as much as possible.

"I'm very grateful to Jim for the confidence he's been giving me. He likes to play the style of football I like and which suits me as a wide player. I am looking forward to the game tomorrow because I want to try to play football."

Although he has rarely achieved what he would consider top form since joining Hearts, Suso is determined to see out the three-year contract he signed upon leaving Tenerife.

"If the club wants me to stay here, I am in a good place in Edinburgh so I'm very happy here."

While counteracting underfoot difficulties tomorrow, Hearts must contend with the dangers of a buoyant Motherwell side unbeaten in their last 11 league fixtures. Indeed, their last reverse came at Tynecastle on 30 December as manager Craig Brown took charge for the first time since replacing Jim Gannon. The rejuvenating effect brought by Brown and his assistant Archie Knox prompted the former to win the SPL Manager of the Month in both January and February.

"We've got to stop him making it three, haven't we?" laughed Jefferies. "He did well because he didn't lose the next game. Normally the manager of the month gets beaten in his next game.

"Motherwell are a good side and there's a lot made of their pitch. Everybody says they have an advantage because they play on that pitch more often than anyone. There is a bit of truth in that but, at the same time, they are a good footballing side. They will get just as frustrated and hampered by it as anyone else.

"They (Brown and Knox] were one of the first to text me when I got the job here. They signed it off, 'Jack and Victor'. I'm looking forward to seeing them."

Jefferies' selection problems show little sign of easing with Michael Stewart absent tomorrow alongside long-term injured players such as Ismael Bouzid, Marius Zaliukas, Craig Thomson and Andy Driver.

"Eggert and Larry are free of suspension," said the manager on a more positive note.

"Dawid Kucharski trained yesterday but it's too early to say about him. Scott Robinson has trained all week so there's a chance he could be included in the squad.

"Marius isn't back in training yet, Ruben Palazuelos is training with the physio but not with us. There's a possibility he could train with us next week but we need to wait and see. Bouzid has gone to see a specialist so we are waiting on the report coming back.

"Marian Kello is still out but Jamie MacDonald is back training."

Jefferies may be forced to select Jose Goncalves again after recalling him at Tannadice last weekend. "I had one or two out of position so I'd like to get them back into their places and then see how we are. Jose shouldn't have played last week but it depends how the numbers are for this week."