Hearts v Aberdeen Preview

Craig Brown spoke to the media on Friday morning "I don't think Ryan Fraser will make it for tomorrow. We are still waiting for his wee problem to clear but the irritation on his hip still remains. Hopefully he'll get restored to fitness soon but if we push him our too early it could knock him back further.

"Rory Fallon didn't train this week because of a dead leg but that should hopefully clear. Steven Hughes is getting nearer, maybe ready to appear tomorrow but there is no chance of the two full backs Ryan Jack and Clark Robertson returning. We had a slight set back with Gary Naysmith. He thought he was going to be ready but then suffered a recurrence of the calf injury so he won't be fit. Milsom has no chance. Osbourne has no chance. I counted eight out last week and sadly we're around the same number this week.

"It's a difficult fixture on Saturday. Hearts have had a couple of, for them, unsatisfactory results so they'll be desperate to restore the pride they've got in their club. Also, they've got a cause down there at the moment and I expect a big crowd to support the cause. When there is a persecution complex about a club and about a team, the fans rally round, the players get stuck in so we're going to have a very testing afternoon there's no doubt about that. We just hope we can keep our very good away form and I'm confident about that but they are a good side, with good players and I think Ryan Stevenson is an outstanding acquisition back from Ipswich for them.

"Every game is crucial in the SPL. It's good that we're in a position of contention and our job is to stay there. I have repeatedly said if we stay there, in strong contention, and then we get all our players fit I think in January and February we can take off. We've been good the last few seasons at that time of the year and hopefully we can take off but we need to get our players back!"

afc.co.uk