Sometimes managers encourage better play by reminding players that they have not delivered enough to relax.

Csaba Laszlo's half-time pep talk proved the catalyst that turned Hearts into match-winners against Motherwell on Wednesday. The 2-1 win was delivered thanks to an injury-time winner from Ruben Palazuelos. Stephen Hughes had cancelled out Andrew Driver's opener and it looked like the sides would take a point-a-piece before Spanish midfielder Palazuelos slotted home via a deflection for his first goal of the season. It was unfortunate on Motherwell who had at least deserved a point for a strong display, especially in the first half when Hughes cracked a drive off the crossbar. Things looked better from Hearts after the break and had clearly been stung by words of criticism from manager Laszlo during the interval. The Hungarian was unhappy his team appeared to have rested on their laurels after winning at Dundee United on Saturday and told a few home truths in the dressing room.

He said: "If you have a lot of young players and they don't have too many experiences, you can have the first half that you had on Wednesday night. Why? You win against Dundee United and then you think everything goes along. This game was very close to the other. I did not have the time as a coach for my team and to prepare what a young team needs. I think in the dressing room at the break we handled this a little bit differently to before. We did not talk about tactics, we talked about discipline and work. It was for me very clear that if we worked the football, not play the football, then we would have the chance. Sometimes it is very important in football to understand this. You must work against the ball and go very quickly behind the ball. This is not new, we've tried this very often in training."

Hearts have a welcome five-point cushion over Dundee United in third place after ending Motherwell's nine-game unbeaten league run. Fir Park boss Mark McGhee felt his side conceded two poor goals from Robbie Neilson long throw-ins, but Laszlo claimed his own tactics had paid off. He added: "The goals were also part of the training, this was very interesting. In training, we try the throws sometimes and now to win I'm delighted. We also got a little bit of luck. I know it's painful to lose the game after 92 minutes but it happens."
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