League a priority

John McGlynn isn't letting Saturday's League Cup victory over Inverness go to his head, as he points to a busy SPL schedule as being his priority.

Hearts will play St Mirren in the Scottish Communities League Cup Final on 17th March at Hampden, but the gaffer is refusing to look that far ahead at the moment.

Speaking to the media this morning at Riccarton, John said: "Winning on Saturday was such a great feeling but it probably hasn't really sunk in. It was such a nail-biter so there was a lot of relief there.

"When it gets towards the League Cup Final then it'll start to kick in then. But with the greatest of respects it's that far away, we're not looking that far ahead. The 17th March is a million miles away and we've got so many league games to play between now and then. Wednesday night is the priority for me now, the League Cup Final goes on the back-burner.

"We want to prioritise on this game on Wednesday night, it's really important to us because Dundee have beaten us twice. It's up to us to go out on Wednesday night and kick-on from the League Cup win; if you can't get a boost from winning that game and getting to the Final then when can you? We're going to make sure that we're very much up for it."

John can welcome back two senior players into the squad after they served their suspensions on Saturday, but will be without the services of another pair for the midweek clash with Dundee.

"Back and available now are Darren Barr and Ryan Stevenson," he stated. "Scott Robinson is out suspended, Gordon Smith has a viral infection. Obviously Callum Paterson is out, Jamie Hamill is out and so is Danny Grainger.

"Come the end of the season, I'll have never had a full strength squad to pick from."

Despite media speculation about new signings, John was keeping his cards close to his chest. When asked about the possibility of further players leaving Tynecastle to make way for new recruits, he replied: "There may well be something that comes about in the next 24 hours, possibly."

Hearts World