The gloves are off, roars Craig

CRAIG GORDON watched from the stand as his side fought back from two goals down to snatch a last-gasp draw the last time Hearts faced Falkirk.

And the Scotland No.1 admitted today it will take similar gutsy performances to get the Gorgie men out of their current rut.

The Bairns visit Tynecastle on Boxing Day with coach Graham Rix, pictured below right, desperate his side should take maximum points and breathe life back into their title bid.

Gordon was shown the first red card of his career at the Falkirk Stadium at the start of October after referee Iain Brines adjudged him to have hauled down Daryl Duffy inside the box as the striker raced onto a through ball. The resultant penalty led to a goal and before long the visitors found themselves trailing by two thanks to an own goal from skipper Steven Pressley.

Facing the daunting prospect of trying to claw that back away from home with just ten men, the Capital club produced arguably the comeback of the season as Pressley redeemed himself with a double. His equaliser came deep into stoppage time, rescued an unlikely point and preserved their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Monday's clash will be the first time the teams have met since that day with Hearts going into the game on the back of a lacklustre 1-0 defeat by Rangers in Glasgow.

The Jambos failed to produce anything like the kind of football that won them so many plaudits earlier in the season and had it not been for a number of fine saves from Gordon they could have found themselves on the end of a far heavier scoreline in Govan.

Indeed, since the arrival of Rix, Hearts have picked up just six points from a possible 15 and have fallen four points adrift of SPL leaders Celtic.

And Gordon wants his side to dig deep and get the Jambos' challenge back on track.

"We got a draw the last time we played them and I think it was a case of a point gained rather than two dropped when you look at what happened in that game," said Gordon.

"The boys fought back really well after I had been sent off because for long periods of time it looked as though we might come out of the game with nothing.

"But the whole team showed great character to get something out of nothing and that really typified the way we had been playing at that point. We'd had a great start and that kept us ticking over nicely and was a massive point for us as people were just waiting for us to be beaten.

"I think we will need to show that sort of character again on Monday because we have had a couple of disappointing results and people are starting to ask questions and it's up to us to answer those on the pitch.

"The boys have got themselves together this week and there has been a good atmosphere around the place. We need to come back out fighting and a performance like the last time we played them is just what we need."

But while many people will expect the Jambos to make the most of home advantage and take all three points against tenth-placed Falkirk, Gordon knows that they are facing opponents who seem to save their best form for the road.

John Hughes' men have only tasted defeat three times on their travels and have picked up creditable results with a draw at Ibrox and a surprise victory over Hibs at Easter Road.

Hearts are hoping they don't become the latest casualties of an attack-minded Falkirk side and with a sell-out crowd guaranteed 22-year-old Gordon is fully expecting the game to be a Christmas cracker.

"They seem to do really well on their travels but we are still unbeaten at home which some people forget we we'll be looking to take all three points from the game," he said.

"They were fantastic at Ibrox not so long ago and I remember watching that game and being very impressed with them. There are not many teams that come from a couple of goals down in Glasgow and that showed the team spirit they have not to mention ability.

"They are a very good passing side who like to take the game to the opposition whenever they can although they also have some great counter-attacking players who can hurt you.

"We definitely have to be wary about them but the main thing for us is to try and get back to the way we were playing earlier in the season by playing our own game. It has all the makings of a really exciting match."

Much has been made of the Tynecastle outfit's dip in form with the Jambos winning just one of their last five matches. The results, and also the poor performances turned in during the games, have led many observers to question whether the Hearts bubble has burst.

Gordon admitted he can't put his finger on exactly what has stalled their season but he's confident that a victory on Monday will kick-start their championship challenge.

"It's important we bounce back because if we want to stay up challenging them we have to start winning games again it's as simple as that," he said. "We have players here that are more than capable of doing that and if they give their all and perform to their best it should be enough.

"The form has been a wee bit disappointing of late but with other teams also dropping points all we need to do is put another wee run together which we are definitely capable of.

"It's hard to say for sure what has happened in the last few games but it's not a lack of effort. I think the best thing we can do is let other people work on the theories about why we have dropped points recently and we can just concentrate on working hard and trying to turn things around.

"If we can get through this period and get back to what we were doing earlier this season I think we've shown already that there are not too many teams in the SPL that can live with that.

"A win against Falkirk would suddenly change the whole complexion of things and would take us into the Celtic game at New Year knowing we could get ourselves right back into contention again."

Taken from the Scotsman