Youthful enthusiasm needs to to be guided and Casba Laszlo wants to increase the average age of his team.

Hearts are in for a long hard season according to manager Csaba Laszlo after he watched his side lose 1-0 against Motherwell a Fir Park. Laszlo still thinks that he could do with some more experienced heads to use to guide the youngsters in his squad. The only goal at Fir Park came from a Ross Forbes volley after he and Giles Coke had both missed good first-half chances. Motherwell dominated the game and Jim O'Brien and John Sutton both had strong penalty claims rejected before the goal came on the 55 minute mark. Hearts did not get a shot on target for 70 minutes and lost Eggert Jonsson for a professional foul after he brought down O'Brien. The sending off brought Hearts to life but Motherwell held on to consolidate their place in the top six and left Hearts in eighth place on nine points. Laszlo admitted the goal may have been avoided if teenage right-back Craig Thomson had more experience to cut out Yassin Moutaouakil's deep cross, and predicted Hearts could continue to struggle without any reinforcements in the January transfer window.

Laszlo said: "This season will be very tough for Hearts. I know what I'm talking about. If you have so many inexperienced players you will have to play painful games. If you win two or three games in this league then you can move up, but before we talk about this we must win. You can get into Europe if you win the cup or finish fifth but we must be realistic and between the wish and reality is a big gap. This is reality. Maybe in two years, maybe next season, these players will have the experience to win games but we can't wait. When we have people like Michael Stewart, Marius Zaliukas and Laryea Kingston out of the team, the young players don't have orientation. They need someone to guide them. This is what I'm talking about all the time. But I'm tired of always talking, I will go and do my job the best I can. This is the only thing I can do."

Laszlo may have amended his comments if he had checked the average age of the opposing Motherwell side. Sutton, at 25, was the oldest player in the starting side by several years. Jim Gannon had 18-year-olds Shaun Hutchinson and Steven Saunders in central defence and the former made two brilliant tackles in the final 10 minutes to stifle any Hearts comeback. Gannon said: "The game seemed to open up and the boys were called on to make those last-ditch recovery tackles with impeccable timing. They are great athletes, good footballers and excellent defenders. They are two of the elite players at the club and I've every confidence in them. They were immense when they were called upon."

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