Motherwell face Hearts in the Ladbrokes Premiership tomorrow afternoon with an early kick off time of 12.15pm.
And as both sides head in to the match on the back of important wins midweek, tomorrow’s clash makes for an intriguing fixture for both sets of supporters.
Mark McGhee’s men recorded a crucial win away to Ross County on Tuesday night, with goals from Scott McDonald and Louis Moult doing the business for the Steelmen.
That result moved Motherwell into the top six and within seven points of tomorrow’s opponents.
However, Ian Cathro’s side extended that gap back to ten points with an emphatic victory on Wednesday night.
With second placed Rangers making the trip to the capital, the Jambo’s 4-1 win wasn’t just crucial in narrowing the gap on Mark Warburton’s side but it was also a timely performance for manager Ian Cathro.
Both Motherwell and Hearts have boosted their squads over the January window, and ahead of tomorrow’s match, Mark McGhee admitted his squad is the strongest it’s been at any stage this season.
He said: “The great change here is that we weren’t praying someone would come in for one of our players in terms of the financial situation which has become stabilised and means we can afford to keep these boys.
“We still remain a club who are here to improve these lads and if they can get themselves moved on then that’s what we have to live with because its part of what we have to do to sustain the club.
“In this time we’re in a good position and we didn’t have to sell so we didn’t – happy days.”
Stephen Pearson, who signed until the end of the season, brings something important to the table, believes McGhee.
He said: “We know what Pearo is, he’s different from the others, he’s got a goal in him and we’re delighted to have him back.”
With the chasing pack behind Motherwell just a point or two off sixth spot, the ‘Well boss insists his side just need to keep their heads down.
He said: “It’s incremental; you keep your head down and look at the next game and we know that we have a tough run coming up now.
“All we can do is look behind us at the others and just chip away at it. We’ve got eleven games before the split and I’m expecting improvement now, regardless what happens in the next few games. I think we’re playing well enough and we’re competitive enough to win enough games to give us a chance of getting that sixth spot.”
And ahead of Hearts tomorrow, McGhee believes that their convincing win over Rangers can’t be something that plays too big a part in the Steelmen’s preparations.
He said: “We can’t worry about last night because by all accounts Rangers were poor compared to what they were against us. We know Hearts can beat anyone in the league and when I looked at their team last night I didn’t really recognise it in a sense because of all these signings.
“We’ve got a wee bit to learn this afternoon about how they did it and what they were like.”
He added: “We have as strong a squad as we’ve had at any time this season, I think we’re in as good form as we have been at any time this season and therefore we’ve got a good chance of doing well against Hearts.”
Stephen Pearson faces a race against time to get himself up to full fitness for tomorrow.
Regardless of whether the midfielder makes the team or not, he is a massive boost to the squad for matches coming up.
The 34-year-old, who returns for his third stint in Lanarkshire, admitted that he feels good to be back and looks forward to getting in to action.
He said: “It’s nice to be back, obviously it doesn’t feel that long since I left but there’s plenty of new faces in there and I’m looking forward to getting started now.
“Everybody knows the affiliation I’ve got with the club and I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed my time here, it’s a good place to come and work – so it ticked all the boxes for me.”
Everybody knows the affiliation I’ve got with the club and I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed my time here, it’s a good place to come and work – so it ticked all the boxes for me.
And while it was the right move for him as a player, Motherwell’s number 88 also insists that he hopes to benefit the club as they push for a top six spot.
[pullquote]I’ve watched quite a few of the games since I’ve been away and the players that have come in have been of a good standard and there’s no reason why we can’t finish in the top six, so that’ll be the aim for us.[/pullquote]
He said: “Hopefully it suits Motherwell to have me back in the short term, and then who knows where we go from there, but I’m just looking forward to helping the team out first and foremost, contribute as much as I can between now and the end of the season and help this club finish as high up the league as possible.”
‘Well assistant James McFadden played a pivotal role in brining Pearson back to Motherwell, with the player revealing the two kept in contact while he was out in India.
Pearson said: “Faddy’s Faddy, I’ve known him for years obviously and I get on with him really well.
The players that have come in have been of a good standard and there’s no reason why we can’t finish in the top six, so that’ll be the aim for us.
“He was just asking me how I was doing and how I was enjoying my time out in India and when I left in the summer I left it open to come back, the possibility was always there and I said that at the time so I’m delighted to be back again.”
On the pitch, Pearson believes the Steelmen have what it takes to secure a top six finish and admitted the win on Tuesday was huge.
He said: “A big win midweek away to Ross County put the team in to the top six and we’re obviously looking to cement that place and finish as high up the league as we possibly can.
“I’ve watched quite a few of the games since I’ve been away and the players that have come in have been of a good standard and there’s no reason why we can’t finish in the top six, so that’ll be the aim for us.”
For manager Ian Cathro and his squad, today is an important game as the club from the capital search for another three points.
The young manager has endured a difficult start since he arrived at Tynecastle from his role at Newcastle United, but both the performance and the convincing scoreline against Rangers on Wednesday night will have done more than just steady the ship.
With an impressive CV in what is an already glittering career, it is surely just a matter of time until Cathro starts to enjoy greater success in Scotland and the manager will be feeling eager for more points today.
In what was a good start to the 2016/17 campaign, the Jambo’s have seen a dip in form and have gone from challenging for second place to languishing a little in fourth.
It may seem easy to find criticisms for the downturn in form at Hearts, but after the departure of Robbie Neilson it was always going to be a tough task to replace the manager, let alone keep results as consistently positive as they were under the stewardship of the 36-year-old.
Neilson, now in charge at MK Dons, left the club in a sound position for the incoming Cathro, who had gained valuable experience in his roles alongside the likes of Rafael Benitez at Newcaslte and Nuno Espírito Santo at Valencia and Rio Ave.
But now he’s back in Scotland, albeit with far more pressure on his shoulders than from his days as the Head of Dundee United’s youth academy aged just 22.
Eight years on from those successful days, Cathro finds himself in charge of one of the biggest clubs in the country and, while there was always going to be pressure and expectation on the club and the manager himself, the future could be very bright for Hearts.
Not only is their stadium currently undergoing a plush redevelopment but the Jambo’s have a plethora of young exciting players in their ranks too.
Top scorer Jamie Walker has progressed to the first team at Hearts and, at just 23-years of age, is enjoying a tremendous campaign so far with eleven goals and three assists to his name so far.
Bjorn Johnsen may have started the season a little slowly but has shot in to life in the last few months and the 6ft 5in American has six goals as well as four assists for the Jam Tarts.
Injury though, is something that has played it’s part with Hearts this season.
Jambo’s gaffer Cathro was unfortunate to see two of his most important players suffer long-term injuries when Callum Patterson and John Souttar suffered knee and Achilles injuries respectively.
This naturally meant Hearts suffered a fairly significant dent in their push to get back to form under their new boss.
Wednesday nights match up with Rangers was an important game for the club, not only for getting their heads right for their trip to Fir Park this afternoon but also for getting over the 4-0 loss to Celtic just last Sunday.
And what a way to respond, with Cathro claiming it was perhaps Hearts most complete display since his arrival.
After the match, he said: “Across the 90 minutes, it was the most complete we’ve been.
“It’s important that right throughout the difficult moments that we’ve had, I’ve always known where we were going and I’ve always known what the football would be like and I’m just pleased tonight that the 17,000 inside Tynecastle were able to see some of that as well.
“The results will determine the narrative. That’s not particularly important for me. We’ve had some difficult times, we’ve had to suffer. We’ve had results that we’ve not liked. Tonight was all of us getting our frustrations out and I’m really, really pleased that everyone’s had that opportunity.”