Jambos boss in good heart

13 September 2012 15:27
John McGlynn is confident Hearts are close to clicking under his management after one SPL loss in the opening five matches of the season.

Hearts travel to St Mirren on Saturday with six points from their opening fixtures this term and McGlynn ruing the dropped points against Inverness and Dundee. Caley Thistle netted a stoppage-time equaliser for a draw, while Dundee's victory at Tynecastle was a result of an early penalty.

McGlynn, who succeeded Paulo Sergio as boss in the summer, said: "We're not far away. You could take two and a half minutes of our season and it could be so different. "If we didn't lose a goal two minutes into the game against Dundee and if we had managed to survive against Inverness for 30 seconds or so. We could have had five more points. "If, I know that's a big thing, but we were very close in those situations. "There are a lot of positives to take. A lot of younger players have been given an awful lot of experience. "We've only lost one league game. Considering we're in a big transition and lost key players from the cup final, I think we're doing okay." 

McGlynn remains keen for chances to be converted more readily. "It would've been nice to have got another striker in to give us some other options up front," he said. "There's still players out there who are free agents so that's not to say something can't be done or will or won't be done. It's an ongoing situation. "It's hard on John Sutton to have all the pressure put on him." 

Rudi Skacel was Hearts' top scorer last season and remains a free agent after leaving Tynecastle for a second time after netting a double in the Scottish Cup win over Hibernian. Asked about the prospect of a third Hearts stint for Skacel, McGlynn added: "Until Rudi has signed for someone else it's always a possibility. "I've not spoken to Rudi Skacel. I'm dealing with the players that I've got. "I don't go to bed at night thinking 'I hope Rudi Skacel turns up tomorrow morning'. "I'm just doing my job with the players that I've got."

After making his second Hearts debut against Dundee and following the international break, Ryan Stevenson could start in Paisley. McGlynn reported no ill-effects of the international fixtures for his players, including key defenders Ryan McGowan, Marius Zaliukas and Andy Webster.

Source: team_talk