Hearts v Saints preview

By Stuart Gillespie
Updated Friday, 16th November 2012

Two clubs in trouble for rather different reasons meet at Tynecastle tomorrow when Saints try to end their dismal run of form against Hearts.

There is never a good time to head to Gorgie but tomorrow's game will be particularly tough. Hearts' financial problems have finally caught up with them big time in the last few weeks, making the problem of trying to pay the wages on time pale into insignificance. I'm still not convinced it's not a lot of scaremongering to shift some shares and tickets, but there was a suggestion tomorrow's match could be the Jambos' last. That's been avoided and a full house (well, the home part anyway) is expected as fans try to inject some cash into their beloved club to ensure it doesn't die. Good luck to them on finding the money needed to ensure it survives but, as I said, I can't help feel some of it is emotional blackmail to cover for owner Vladimir Romanov's current lack of interest.

Hearts may be in trouble off the park but we're in a sticky situation on it. Last week's defeat to Aberdeen made it five in a row in the league and leaves us languishing second bottom in the SPL, just four points above next week's opponents Dundee. It's a pretty shocking situation to be in considering we were all hoping to be pushing for a place in the top six this season. With the home support almost certain to be fired up for tomorrow's game it would be a tough task for any team so I'd be surprised if we ended our winless run on this occasion.

However, our last game against Hearts went rather well, even though we perhaps didn't deserve to win. Jim Goodwin scored a screamer and Lewis Guy got a tap in to give us our first home win of the season as Hearts kept wasting corners. Our record at Tynecastle in recent years isn't good though - it's four years since Stephen McGinn's Boxing Day winner there - and we'll need to cut out the stupid defensive mistakes if we want to leave Gorgie with anything tomorrow. Creating some proper chances so that our strikers have something to work with wouldn't go amiss either.

One of the few bright spots from last week's display against the Dons was the performance of Gary Teale. He's been rather disappointing since his arrival last year but last Saturday saw arguably his best display in a Saints shirt. His set pieces were pretty dangerous and his crossing also looked handy, many of his deliveries causing problems in the Aberdeen box. It's perhaps time for Graham Carey to get a chance on the other wing, while Steven Thompson and Sam Parkin are likely to be paired together up front again to ensure the high balls aren't wasted. I'm not sure I'd agree with that one as I'd prefer to see the movement and pace of Lewis Guy given a chance from the start - or perhaps Thomas Reilly given another shot.

Aside from that we should have Jim Goodwin back in midfield now he's no longer suspended, despite everyone assuming he had a two game ban. Jon Robertson, who has struggled since his summer switch from Cowdenbeath, will almost certainly be the one making way - a shame for him as he'd no doubt like a chance to get revenge on the club that let him go as a youngster. Darren McGregor and Paul McGowan are still injured and the latter has been hugely missed. It is clear we can't really play the passing football without him, which makes you wonder why we're continuing to try to play that way. It worked reasonably well when he played but without him we have struggled - the mad game against Ross County just after he got injured being the only match we have won during his absence, which is surely no coincidence.

Hearts problems aren't restricted to finances as they are also struggling a bit in the league as well, currently just one place and two points better off than ourselves. Admittedly, John McGlynn has managed to get them into the semi-finals of the League Cup which may be more valuable than a few more league wins due to the extra cash it will bring in during January. There have been quite a few disgruntled Jambos with the football being produced and some of the results - they have somehow managed to lose to Dundee twice - but it's perhaps understandable considering the problems he's had to deal with off the field. Mind you, having been caretaker on numerous occasions before branching out on his own with Raith Rovers the uncertainty shouldn't have come as too big a surprise.

Hearts made a lot towards the end of last season about how they were going to cut the wage bill and give youngsters a chance. It was therefore somewhat of a surprise to see them bring Ryan Stevenson back to the club. The midfielder was sent to Ipswich in January - having been about the only player to complain publicly about not being paid his wages. After a difficult spell with the Championship side it looked as if he'd sign for Motherwell, only to end up back at Tynecastle. It was a strange move as I'm guessing he's still on a fair bit of money - and the player, like McGlynn, surely knew what he was getting himself into before the latest problems. They even had the cheek to try to sign Rudi Skacel back - another high earner - before being given a transfer ban for not paying the wages on time.

The plan to use the youngsters to generate some much needed cash has already paid off as David Templeton was sold to Rangers before the transfer window closed, an odd decision considering Hearts weren't best pleased at the problems with payments for Lee Wallace from oldco and Romanov has often moaned about them. Ryan McGowan almost joined Templeton at Ibrox but the defender opted to stay put. There's still interest in the Aussie so he may well be the next one to be sold on. Whether the same can be said for Andrew Driver remains to be seen as the winger has only shown flashes of the form he displayed when he first broke through five years ago.

The other young player getting a real shot this season is Callum Paterson. He started off the campaign in defence but has gradually been moved forward and now finds himself operating as a striker. He has scored a few goals but he seems to be playing as a lone forward, even if players like Ryan Stevenson and Scott Robinson are being asked to offer support. Deploying Paterson as a forward has also restricted the game time of former Buddie John Sutton, who looked to be getting a second chance at Hearts after Paolo Sergio sent him on loan to Australia for the second half of last season. However, he is one player who simply cannot operate as a lone forward and you wonder why McGlynn doesn't pair him with Paterson on a more regular basis.

Of course, as a famous pundit once said, you can't win anything with kids - so it's just as well Hearts still have a fair number of experienced players. Andy Webster - who seems to be injury free now that he's left Rangers - and Marius Zaliukas are fine defensive pairing and Danny Grainger seems to get stronger every season. With midfield hardman Ian Black gone it has seen the likes of Darren Barr and Mehdi Taouil put into the engine room, Barr coping rather well despite starting his career as a centre-half. Hearts fans seem to have mixed opinions on Jamie MacDonald but he has always seemed a decent enough keeper to me and will surely only get better.