Frail admits time running out in Hearts' bid to make top six

HEARTS interim boss Stephen Frail has warned his players that time is running out in their bid to reach the SPL's top six.

The Jambos currently occupy ninth spot in the table and are five points behind sixth-placed Falkirk, having played the same number of matches as the Bairns.

With only seven matches remaining before the league split, the Tynecastle side can afford few slip-ups if they are to avoid playing out their final games of the campaign in the bottom half of the table.

A run of three wins from their last four SPL outings has given Hearts renewed hope that they can secure a top-six berth, although the coming weeks will be key with a tough trip to Motherwell this weekend followed hard on the heels by a visit from league leaders Rangers.

And Frail acknowledged the need to get back to winning ways in these matches after a 3-0 defeat to Celtic last Saturday.

"We have got some big games coming up over the next few weeks and this is when we really need to get some wins under our belts," said Frail, who has helped to turn the club's fortunes around since being given sole control of team affairs.

"It's the business end of the season now and we know what we have to do if we want to finish as high up the table as we possibly can.

"Games are running out for us before the league splits. We've got seven matches left and, while I'm not going to say they are must-win games, we do need to win as many of them as we possibly can and we will be doing everything that we can to make sure that we do that."

Saturday's opponents Motherwell sit 11 points ahead of the Jambos with a game in hand and victory for the Fir Park side would effectively end Hearts' chances of catching Mark McGhee's men.

A win for Hearts, however, would give them an outside chance of reeling in the Lanarkshire side and Frail hasn't given up hope of overhauling them.

"We know how good a team Motherwell are and we know that they are one of the teams we are chasing," he said.

"If we go there and get the victory then it obviously helps us close the gap. There's still not a lot in it. Obviously people always look at the league positions but in terms of points it's really still quite close. We showed in the three games prior to the Celtic match what we are capable of and I think at Parkhead we still managed to play some good football.

"If we keep playing away and keep fighting for one another then we will win more games than we will lose and hopefully make it a better end to the season than maybe a lot of people thought it would be."