The race for Europa League hots up

Last updated : 22 April 2010 By TwoTonTed

Tynecastle stadium sign 2Jim Jefferies wants his players to put Hibs under real pressure in the race for a place on the Europa League by beating Motherwell this weekend. With a win on Saturday, The Jambos will close the gap on Hibs to three points and sneak up to just one behind 'Well. Hibs play Rangers on Sunday and the odds are that they will not pick up anything from that encounter. This sets things up nicely for the Edinburgh derby to be the game where Hearts draw level with John Hughes side.

Jefferies said: "This is a huge game for us now against Motherwell.  We always knew Rangers was going to be a difficult match for us but the most important thing was that Motherwell didn't pick up anything either at the weekend. If we can get the crowd behind us and get a win on Saturday, hopefully that will put pressure on Hibs. They play Rangers on Sunday and that is not going to be easy for them with what's at stake. If Rangers were then to win then there would be just three points between us and Hibs when we play them at Easter Road. That's why Motherwell is a key game for us and they will also be playing Hibs at Fir Park when we take on Dundee United at Tynecastle on Wednesday, May 5 - so it's very interesting. It's all to play for at the moment and with three games at home coming up, this is our best chance to give it everything."

The Jambos are currently sixth in the SPL, and fifth place is likely to guarantee Europa League football next season. Jefferies had good news on Thursday on the fitness of Gary Glen and Laryea Kingston, both of whom have returned to training following hamstring injuries. Jefferies said: "We thought Larry might miss a couple of days but he trained yesterday and is fine so that's good news and Gary Glen will also be in contention this weekend, which is another positive."