SAINTS STARS TOLD TO BEWARE OF A JAMBO BACKLASH

ST MIRREN boss Gus MacPherson is warning his players to beware an international backlash tomorrow when they face Hearts.

MacPherson is aware of consequences for his team at Tynecastle after Scotland's midweek victory over Lithuania.

The spine of the Hearts team will be jubilant after their efforts for Scotland, while the club's Lithuanian players will want to put the defeat behind them.

MacPherson said: "Hearts are good enough to sustain a championship challenge to the Old Firm and are a model of consistency on their own ground.

"On top of that the Scottish players will be buoyed by their performance in Kaunas.

"Their spirits will be lifted to new heights, while the Lithuanian players will be eager to do better than their country managed to do in midweek.

"Any side with that number of international players to call upon has to pose a major threat to my players.

"Paul Hartley looks fresh after his injury lay-off and desperate to impress. Steven Pressley and Craig Gordon have been central to Hearts' success for three seasons.

"They're not yet in the Old Firm category whereby anything you get from them is a bonus but they're resurgent and impressive."

The fortnight's break to accommodate Scotland's games against the Faroes and Lithuania has been used by MacPherson to dwell on the self-inflicted mistakes made when Saints lost 3 -1 at home to Dundee United.

He said: "We've watched the video more than a few times because there's a lot to goover.

"You learn more from defeat than victory and we've a lot to learn if we're to avoid a repeat of that performance."

Saints will keep faith with young keeper Chris Smith despite his contribution to the loss against United.

MacPherson said: "We have studied Chris closely in training and there are no after-effects.

"We've watched the video enough to know he certainly wasn't the only one to make mistakes that day.

"We've got a big month ahead, with Celtic to come in the CIS Cup. It's another challenge to the players to show what they're made of.

"Maybe it's not the ideal time to meet Celtic but at least the directors are happy with an away tie.

"My reward would be watching the team avoid costing us any more unnecessary goals."

Taken from the Daily Record