Source: Team_Talk
Jefferies motivated by cup tie
Jim Jefferies was in reflective mood as he prepared to take Hearts to his former club Falkirk in the Co-operative Insurance Cup on Tuesday.[LNB] Jefferies will lock horns with Falkirk boss Steven Pressley - a player he signed for Hearts - while he took Hearts to the final of the competition in his first spell in charge, losing 4-3 to Rangers in an epic tussle where Paul Gascoigne was the difference.[LNB]But while the competition, Pressley and the Bairns remind Jefferies of the past, the Hearts boss is looking to the future and is optimistic of progressing to the quarter-finals with victory at Falkirk Stadium.[LNB]"If we get through we're a couple of games away from the final again," said Jefferies ahead of the third round tie with the club he managed for five years.[LNB]"We've got enough motivation because clubs like this should be in there challenging when it comes round to the business end of it, semi-finals and finals, and that's what we aim to do.[LNB]"It will be an interesting game, but we should be going into it with confidence.[LNB]"Away from home, apart from Celtic, we've scored seven goals in two matches and we're looking forward to it."[LNB]Hearts' confidence was boosted by a 3-1 Clydesdale Bank Premier League win at Inverness last Saturday, marred only by the bruised foot suffered by Ian Black which means the midfielder is doubtful on Tuesday.[LNB]But Jefferies, whose second spell in charge of Hearts began with the Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final loss to eventual beaten finalists St Mirren in February, will not be taking Irn-Bru First Division side Falkirk lightly.[LNB]"Our message to our players will be that they were in the Premier League not so long ago," he said.[LNB]The Bairns have won four of their six league matches this term and progressed to the third round with a 1-0 win at Partick Thistle.[LNB]Jefferies has heard little from former Scotland defender Pressley since he took his first managerial role.[LNB]He signed Pressley on a free transfer in 1998, with the defender going on to make more than 300 appearances for the club.[LNB]"He did terrifically well for us," Jefferies said. "We've had some good times together and I've bumped into him a couple of times.[LNB]"I don't think he'll phone too many people - he's got his own way of doing things. The one thing is he's single-minded and you'll never change him. He's quite right to do it his way.[LNB]"He's now launching into a managerial career and after tomorrow night I hope he's successful at getting Falkirk back up."[LNB]Hearts, fielding some players on the fringes of the first team, beat Elgin 4-0 in the second round at Tynecastle last month, but Jefferies will resist wholesale changes on Tuesday.[LNB]He added: "We were very professional in the last round and we have to do the same when we go to Falkirk.[LNB]"No disrespect to Elgin, but Falkirk are a step up. The team will not be far away (from the full first team)."[LNB]That may include Rudi Skacel, who returned to Hearts last week after a memorable season in 2005/06 which culminated in a Scottish Cup success.[LNB]If Skacel is awarded his second debut, it is likely to come off the bench.[LNB]"I think he feels himself that he's still a week or so away from being up to speed," Jefferies added.[LNB]Stephen Elliott is close to a return from a hamstring problem, but Dawid Kucharski (calf strain) and Andrew Driver (knee) remain absent along with Lee Wallace (knee) and Marius Zaliukas (knee and contract dispute).
