After a diabolical run which saw us tumble down the table, we have steadied the ship somewhat. The quarter final win at Livingston and last weeks triumph over Dundee were pleasing, even if the scores did flatter us on each occasion. However, we played better than our points total suggested in our poor run so a little levelling out of the breaks was probably overdue.
We have no new injury worries to deal with for Saturday. As usual, Kerr and McBride are out and the only change that can really be made to the side involves Martyn Corrigan. The Kaiser had a stinker in the middle of the park last week and with Scott Leitch on the bench, his place is in doubt. The question for Butcher is whether to make a straight swap or move Corrigan to right back, put Leitch in the middle and dispatch young Paul Quinn to the bench. It would be very harsh on Quinn if this decision was taken – but for the good of the team and all that.
It is likely that our new formation will have a closer resemblance to a tight 4-5-1 on Saturday than a free flowing 4-3-3.
Hearts have made a shaky start to the league by their standards but between injuries and the several European games they’ve played, this is probably not unsurprising. Without de Vries they lack their main goal threat but Paul Hartley is in outstanding form just now and they do have other players that we’ll need to keep an eye on.