Europa League contenders meet

Last updated : 25 September 2010 By TwoTonTed
Hearts welcome Motherwell with manager Jim Jefferies aware his depleted defence must perform at Tynecastle. The Jambos sit one point clear of Motherwell and Aberdeen in third place after five games. Well have ambitions of Europa League qualification and Jefferies is determined to triumph, while accentuating the positive of a forward line in a rich vein of form. Jefferies' said: "We're lying in a tight league in third position. The only way you're guaranteed to stay there is by winning matches. We're up against a very good team who are just behind us and we'll need to defend a lot better. But they've got to worry about the way we score goals. They're going to be one of the teams contesting at the right end of the table, I don't think there's any doubt about that. We know it's going to take a good performance to beat them. We're expecting a very tough match and we'll make sure we give Motherwell a tough match as well.''

Hearts have scored six goals in two games, albeit they ended up losing 4-3 at Falkirk in the Co-operative Insurance Cup on Tuesday night. Kevin Kyle has been in impressive form leading the line, while he could be joined by fellow new signing Stephen Elliott against Motherwell with the striker recovered from a hamstring injury. Jefferies said: "We look a real threat going forward and we've got people who can score goals. The attack's been great. The forwards are doing their bit. But at the back we've been short. There's no defence for the defence - some of the goals we lost were quite unbelievable. It's just basic stuff. We know where the problems are and that's what we need to resolve. There are not a lot of options there - we're playing players out of position and they're trying their best. We've just got to try to do the best we can.''

Jefferies' defensive options were weakened after Craig Thomson's dismissal at Falkirk. The 19-year-old will be suspended against Motherwell and will watch on from the stands like Lee Wallace (knee) and Marius Zaliukas, who, despite being subject of a contract dispute, is back in training following a knee problem. Jefferies too will be banned tomorrow, forced out of the dugout and into the stand after being disciplined at Celtic earlier this month. He said: "My preference is to be down there (in the dugout), but it's sometimes not a bad thing because you see the game differently from up there (the stand).''