Sutton wants to fire Hearts to silverware

John Sutton says he wants to banish the painful memory of Motherwell's cup final capitulation last weekend by securing silverware with Hearts next season.

Sutton, who yesterday signed a three-year contract in Gorgie, hopes to go one better in domestic cup competitions after his former club's 3-0 loss to Celtic at Hampden on Saturday.

The 6ft forward reckons the current absence of silverware at Tynecastle will act as an inspiration for the club next season.

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"Probably from Hearts' perspective last year, that would be the disappointment because they were so consistent in the league and wrapped up third place," he said. "There is an element of luck in cup competitions with the draw and you need to play well on the day, whereas I think the league's probably a more accurate basis of how good you've been.

"Certainly, it would be good to win silverware - the hardest thing you can do is win anything. I'm sure the manager and the players will be up for a good run in all competitions this year."

Far from fearful of a Hampden return, Sutton would love the opportunity to go back to the national stadium and leave with a smile on his face.

He said: "My wife will tell you I had plenty time to be a bit miserable and a bit moody. I've got to look to the future now and it would be great to get back there in the not-too-distant future."

The 27-year-old striker also thinks the Jambos can provide the platform for him to rectify his recent European form, having suffered disappointing exits from continental competition with the Steelmen in each of the last three seasons. In the past season, the Fir Park side exited the Europa League at the hands of Denmark's Odense.

"The chances are that, if Motherwell had got through the second round, which is by no means easy, in the third round draw you can get a big boy - Man City or Roma - but we managed to get a Danish team who weren't any great shakes and over the two games we really could've beaten them.

"If you then get into the group stages, you're guaranteed four or five really good games. So, hopefully, we can do that here. I've had three cracks at it with Motherwell and never quite managed it, so it would be good to make it here."

Aside from the pull of a club at which he sees an improved chance of collecting medals, Sutton is eager to savour the unique atmosphere of an Edinburgh derby and the visits of either side of the Old Firm to Tynecastle. Those matches figured as a significant factor in the player signing for Jim Jefferies' side.

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"There was interest but when I was going over my options with other people, I was really pushing the Hearts thing," said Sutton. "Obviously, there is the financial side of things, and I probably could have done better down south from that point of view.

"I like playing in Scotland and especially at Hearts you've got the Old Firm which are obviously big games and you've got the Edinburgh derbies. I think it's just a tremendous place to play. As much as there was interest from down south, I was pushing for the Hearts move. In fact, I was delighted when, rather than saying to someone to call Hearts, Hearts got in touch and called me. From then on, it was a very easy decision.

"I like the way Hearts play. They have a lot of good forward players; a lot of good wingers and strikers. Playing in front of that amount of fans every week is something I'm really looking forward to doing. They scored a lot of goals last year and created a lot of chances, and the way they like to play football, they put pressure on high up."