Both Sides Up For The Game

Last updated : 04 March 2013 By Ed_ScottishFitba

stjohnstoneSteve Lomas is well aware that Hearts will be looking to show what they can do in adversity when St Johnstone call on Tuesday.  Hearts are looking to record their first win since manager John McGlynn left the club last week, with first-team coach Gary Locke taking charge of his second game in four days. Locke will not have a hard job getting his players motivated as they will be looking to play themselves into the Scottish Communities League Cup final squad who will meet St Mirren later this month. However, Saints - sitting fifth in the table - are also very keen to pick up points to secure their spot in the top half of the table before the league split.

Lomas said: "Gary Locke is a very respected former player and coach. He's a great lad and I'm sure the lads will want to play for him. They've got a cup final coming up and maybe some of the more experienced boys have got a point to prove. There are various reasons why they'll want to do well but we can only focus on what we can do. We can only focus on our performance, our defending and our attacking. It's a great opportunity for us but it's never easy to go to Tynecastle. It's a tough venue and we will have to perform. The league's so tight and I think that's been a positive this year that everybody can beat everybody. Everybody has to perform because everybody can beat anybody on the day. If you don't perform in the 90 minutes, you get beat. It's as simple as that."

The vacancy in the managers office at Hearts has attracted more than 50 applications and notes of interest in the first 48 hours following McGlynn's departure. The former Raith Rovers manager left Tynecastle after Hearts slipped to second bottom of the SPL but Lomas had some sympathy for the former Jambos manager. He said: "It's a classic case of giving somebody a remit - blood young players while cutting the budget. But, once there is a little bit of heat coming from the fans, the manager is the one who gets the bullet when really John McGlynn has done nothing wrong. He's fulfilled his remit and more."

Saints were held to a draw by bottom side Dundee in their last game but Lomas has no complaints about their recent efforts. He said: "A point away from home in the SPL isn't something you need to bounce back from. Yes, we were disappointed but there's nothing we can do about it. All we can do is focus on the next game but I don't think it's a case of bouncing back."