Buddies V Jamtarts Take II

21 March 2012 13:29
A replay in Paisley is the dish of choice tonight

Jim Goodwin believes St Mirren getting beaten by St Johnstone was a timely wake-up call ahead of tonight's Scottish Cup replay with Hearts. The Buddies eight-game unbeaten run was ended by the Perth Saints running out 3-0 winners on Saturday. Goodwin admits the disappointing defeat should act as a warning that the squad cannot allow their standards to slip when they battle the Jambos for a place in the last four. He said: "We need to bounce back. It was very disappointing on Saturday. We didn't give a good account of ourselves at all. We know we need to raise our game and hopefully it's a little reality check for us. We need to maintain high standards at all times and no more so than against Hearts." Manager Danny Lennon added: "We were very disappointed in terms of the result and the level of performance that was on show on Saturday. I was disappointed for the home fans because our general play over the course of the last couple of months has been very good. While we haven't won since the Rangers game in the SPL - and that's a stat that I don't like - we were eight games unbeaten up until Saturday so that shows that we are a very difficult side to play against and beat."St Mirren and Hearts put on entertaining show which ended in a 2-2 draw in the quarter-final at the first attempt at Tynecastle. Tonight's winners will take on Celtic in the semi-final. Lennon went on: "I'm sure if both sets of players put in half as much as they did at Tynecastle a fortnight ago, the fans will certainly be entertained. It was a good battle of wits between both benches through there. I thought, over the piece, it finished with a fair result and a replay." Hearts manager Paulo Sergio wants to focus on the game despite admitting frustration over the handling of the clubs wage problems. A statement on the Hearts official website on Friday laid some of the blame for another delayed payment on fringe players who chose to "stagnate" and take money for nothing rather than leave in January. The players, who lodged an official complaint with the SPL in December following three significant delays, have only been told they will likely be paid by the end of the month. Progress to a semi-final would provide some financial respite as Hearts bid to live within their means but Sergio is more concerned with the glory. He said: "We know that brings money but my focus should not be on the financial problems, it should be and it has to be on football. I'm doing my job but I know if we are champions it can solve our problems."

Source: FOOTYMAD