Motherwell v Hearts news

Motherwell manager Mark McGhee has a full squad to pick from for today's game against Hearts. He will welcome back midfielder Stephen Hughes after he was not risked in the midweek win over Inverness due to a minor knee injury. McGhee was full of praise for his players for adapting to changes as they drive for a European spot. McGhee has changed to a 4-2-4 formation in the past two games, with Darren Smith making his first SPL starts of the season.
He was rewarded with six goals and six points in victories against Gretna and Inverness, which saw 'Well go four points clear in third place. This is McGhee's first full season at the helm of the Fir Park club and they are in with a great chance of securing European football. McGhee, who continues to tie up players on improved contracts, plans to stick with the direct approach at Fir Park.
He said: "It wasn't just the fact we made some changes to the personnel and the system, it was also the the way we are playing - we have changed that completely. We have changed from a team that were making a lot of passes to being a team that have become much more direct, and we are still getting results. Because of the surface, the midfield area is not an area where we are able to pass the ball at the moment. So we have got to cut that out and get the ball forward a bit earlier and a bit more directly to the strikers, so that will continue against Hearts. When we go to Aberdeen and Falkirk, it might be different. If we get to Aberdeen and the pitch is good, we could easily go back to 4-3-3."

Hearts interim head coach Stevie Frail could be without four regular first team players through injury. While rumours abound that Andrius Velicka is about to move to Norwegian Premier League club Viking Stavanger for around £1m, the Lithuanian will miss today's game due to a pelvis injury. Doubts are also hanging over the availability of Michael Stewart (hamstring), Andy Driver (groin) and Laryea Kingston (foot). Frail could be tempted to add January recruit Fernando Screpis to the squad. The Hearts man admires what counterpart McGhee has done with Motherwell and the impact they have had on the SPL this season. The two sides will lock horns for the fifth time this term and Frail has been impressed by how McGhee has conducted himself, particularly in the aftermath of the tragic death of Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell in December.
Frail said: "He has done fantastically well along with Scott Leitch. It has been a breath of fresh air because they were struggling last year. He has turned it around very quickly and they have had a fantastic season, not just with their results but also in the manner they play. They play good exciting football and they are a real threat. It's been good for the league having another team up there. Dundee United are up there too and I wish we were still in amongst it challenging. Also, when any manager is in a position where they are doing well, they will get linked with jobs and it's no surprise Mark's name was in the frame for the Scotland job. He was there on merit.".

Hearts trail Motherwell, who have two games in hand, by a 14 points and Frail has already waved goodbye to their own hopes of snatching a UEFA Cup place via a third-place finish. He said: "You could probably say that defeat would not really give us a chance of finishing third. We will never give up on it until it's impossible but it would be an almighty challenge to try and do it, you would probably have to try and win every single game between now and the end of the season. Come quarter to five, whatever the outcome, we will look at it. All thoughts between now and three o'clock on Saturday are getting three points. Defeat has not even been in our thoughts this week, everything has been positive this week. We took all the positives from the Celtic game and we are trying to keep that spirit going on the back of the three wins and three clean sheets we had. We are hoping to get back to winning ways."