STEVEN PRESSLEY: GAFFER'S TALK-IN LET US HAVE OUR SAY ON THE PITCH

IT has been a demanding few months for everyone at Tynecastle and prior to the Falkirk game on Boxing Day the manager spoke to us about a number of issues.

He was keen to stress ways we could improve ourselves and move forward after a couple of indifferent performances.

I think we all took on board what he had to say and then reacted in the best possible manner.

We are all delighted for the gaffer. It's never easy when a new manager comes into a position and it can take time to adjust.

So not only winning the game,but winning it in the manner we did wasa great response after the defeat to Rangers last week.

This season the SPL has proved to be a far more competitive league than years gone by and it's great for our game.

Livingston's performance at Parkhead proved there are no easy fixtures and Celtic themselves have found the going quite difficult of late.

Thankfully we haven't lost much ground and the 5-0 victory against Falkirk puts us in a very positive frame of mind for Sunday's table- topping clash with Celtic.

A lot of the credit for our victory goes to the attacking players and rightly so, but with the score at 2-0 Craig Gordon made a crucial save and seconds later we went up the park to score a third and kill off the game.

Craig prevented a certain goal and his contribution was hugely significant because if Falkirk had made it 2-1 the game would have taken on a completely different complexion.

These are the types of save he has made on a regular basis and they have proved extremely important for the team.

Everyone is looking forward to the Celtic clash. The atmosphere on New Year's Day should be electric although it has been that way all season.

The fans have played a major part in our success at home this term as they have given us magnificent backing with the stadium being sold out for the majority of matches We have won nine and drawn one at Tynecastle and it can be an intimidating arena for teams due to a combination of our play and the support from the fans.

I don't think Celtic will be under any illusions that this will be a tough fixture.

Wins breed confidence and I reckon the result against Falkirk could prove very significant. In training the following day I could sense a far more positive attitude in the camp.

The disappointment of last week's performance had disappeared and it just shows how quickly things can change in football.

The other talking point in training was Calum's Elliot's first goals for Hearts.

Calum is another product of the Hearts youth policy and he has improved week on week this season.

He is only 18 and his all-round general play has been tremendous for one so young.

The one thing which he had lacked was goals andwe are delighted for him to get off the mark because I think he has an enormous future

Taken from the Daily Record