Our own form at the moment is mixed. We've taken one point and scored no goals in our past two games, but we managed to win the two matches before that. It would appear it's going to be a rollercoaster season in terms of results and hopefully tomorrow will be one of the highs. We are due a win against Hearts at Love Street - while we've managed some wins at Tynecastle in recent years we haven't beaten them at home since 1990.
The unwritten rule that players often do well against their former clubs is, for once, a good thing from a Saints perspective. Dennis Wyness has yet to break his duck for us and hasn't scored in over a year - but he did play for Hearts a few years ago so it wouldn't be a surprise to see him score. Fellow forward Jim Hamilton also used to play for Hearts and scored his only goal to date for Saints against them last season - although he has several former clubs so it's a lot easier for him to annoy a former employer!
Wyness should have scored last week and didn't and could pay for that with his place in the side. Craig Dargo came off the bench against Hibs and looked sharper than he has done for some time so could return to the starting line-up. Andy Dorman also looked bright as a sub and scored for the reserves during the week and could be rewarded with a recall. Will Haining is fit and returns to the squad, although it would be unfair on Scott Cuthbert who played well last week. Stephen O'Donnell, Tom Brighton, Tonet and David Barron are all out with injury. To be honest, after playing some good stuff last week we're likely to go with the same team again and Haining, Dargo, Dorman et al will have to make do with a place on the bench.
Considering Hearts haven't won any of their last five games, it's a surprise to see manager Csaba Laszlo still in the charge. In the past, better runs of form than that have caused chairman Vladimir Romanov to change bosses and Laszlo will probably be getting a little nervous if Hearts fail to win tomorrow. Their poor run of form is strange as they have some good players, like Michael Stewart and Andrew Driver in midfield. Young striker Gary Glen scored against us last season and looks like a real star for the future as, in fairness, do a number of the younger players on Hearts books. It's just a shame they are often overlooked in favour of the latest arrivals from Kaunas.
After last week's performance, we should be confident taking something from this game. However, I've a horrible feeling our generosity to clubs in poor runs of form will once again rise to the fore and we'll suffer a narrow defeat.