 Jim Jefferies plans to have an early night tonight ahead of tomorrow's New Year's Day derby with Hibs at Tynecastle. The last words ringing in his players ears will be his voice reminding them that they should do the same. Jefferies will reiterate the old saying that the harder you work the luckier you get. Hard work has paid dividends so far with a run of nine wins in 11 games to look back on as reward for their collective efforts. Jefferies does not want his squad to be complacent against a Hibs side who have lost six of their last 10 games and lie perilously close to the foot of the SPL. Jefferies said: "We just have to keep reminding the players the reason we've got to where we are is because our attitude has been fantastic. Losing's a habit and so is winning. The players have now got a determination about them to keep the run going. They go out there believing they're going to give everything to keep the run going. I'm going to my bed early - I've got to set an example. I'll warn the players to make sure we're tucked up in bed, lock the doors, don't answer, don't see in the new year. They've got to be professional, it's their job, and if they manage to pull off a victory I might consider giving them a day off on Sunday. They don't want to let anybody down so I'm sure they'll be professional enough to do the right things." Hearts' 2-0 win over St Mirren on Wednesday night saw them end the year in third place in the table, just six points behind leaders Celtic and five behind second-placed Rangers. However, Jefferies has played down talk of a title challenge this season, merely hoping his side can continue their strong run. But with Rangers meeting Celtic on Sunday at Ibrox, Hearts could cut the gap at the top of the table with defeat of their city rivals. Jefferies said: "We've never gone shouting about what we're going to do to the top two. Something will happen at the weekend and we'll get a wee bit closer either to the two of them or one of them. The secret is to handle everybody else in the league. If you do well against them then you're always going to keep in contention at the top. We're not going to go speaking about it - you've got to stand up to the plate and go and do it. Looking at us now there's no reason why we shouldn't. Hopefully that will be the drive for us between now and the rest of the season. There's a long way to go and we need to keep doing it week-in, week-out." Hibs managed to salvage a 2-2 draw with Dundee United o Wednesday night to give manager Colin Calderwood a record of two wins and two draws from 10 games since he was named as the man in charge down Easter Road. And with local bragging rights up for grabs, Jefferies is optimistic his side will continue to perform in a game they are expected to win. He said: "There's no motivation needed. We've had the upper hand in the last two or three games and it will just make Hibs all the more determined. We're well prepared going into the game and we've got to make sure we continue to do what we've been doing. You don't get any more points for it - that's what we're after. We're after the points to keep ourselves in third place with a good gap. I don't see them being in great trouble come the end of the season, but we're just concentrating on Saturday and making sure we keep things going the way they've been going for us." |