IT'S A knockout. If Hearts lose at home to Falkirk today they will go six points behind John Hughes' team with only two games to go before the split.
Falkirk, who already have a superior goal difference, would then need only a point from those last two matches to ensure they finished above Hearts. Aberdeen, who are currently level with the Tynecastle club and still have Falkirk to play, could also
come into the top-six equation, but this afternoon Hearts cannot afford to contemplate such complexities.
"We'll need to treat it as a must-win game," Stephen Frail, Hearts' caretaker manager, said yesterday. "(But] we can't hype it up too much – we need to make sure we're controlled in everything we do."
Maintaining that self-control will be essential for Hearts against opponents who have the luxury of knowing that a draw would still leave their destiny in their own hands. "They've done very well to be hanging in there, so we know how difficult the whole 90 minutes will be," Frail said of the visitors.
"Falkirk play really attractive football and are pleasing on the eye. They've been up and down, but are hitting a bit of form at the right time and we need to stop that."
Frail is short of options out wide as both Andrew Driver and Neil McCann have been ruled out for six to eight weeks, and it remains to be seen whether he will have a full pick of players in midfield, as Laryea Kingston's inclusion is by no means assured. The Ghana international has recovered from a foot injury, but may be judged short of match fitness for such a high-tension encounter.
"Laryea is looking OK," Frail said. "I'm not sure he's got enough for tomorrow. He's very close, although he hasn't had any reserve games since coming back, so that is something I'll have to think about as well."
Robbie Neilson, the Hearts full-back, added that the players were well aware that, after clawing their way back from second bottom to seventh, their hard work could count for nothing if they lose today. "It's fair to say (this] is the most important game of the season for us," Neilson said. "The emphasis is therefore on us to win the game. If we don't make it, it will be a terrible season."
"After being second bottom of the table and people talking about us being involved in a relegation battle, to then be pushing for a place in the top six is a positive thing for us," he said. "Credit to Stephen Frail for helping turning things around and things have certainly improved since he took over."
Neilson suggested that Frail deserved being offered the manager's job permanently, but said the main thing was to make an appointment in good time for next season. "You can't expect anything here, but I'd like to think he's got a good shout. You can see the turnaround (since he took over].
"We need a new manager, hopefully before pre-season begins. The sooner we get it sorted out the better."
When Falkirk last visited Tynecastle back in October, Hearts took a commanding 4-0 lead before they conceded two goals in the last three minutes to make the scoreline give a misleading impression of the game. "We were lucky to score two late goals," John Hughes, the Falkirk manager, recalled. "Hopefully it's different this time.
"It's a big test for the young boys. Can they go and handle it because it's an intimidating arena?
"A top-six finish would be progress for the club and we're getting there. If we want to keep improving the stature of Falkirk as an SPL club we need to keep finishing as high up the league as we can."
The full article contains 646 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
