Cup tie comes too soon for Hearts striker Stephen Elliott

The Irish internationalist hasn't pulled on a Hearts strip since and, although Jefferies is keen to see him back sooner rather than later, he warned: "Stephen is very close, we certainly think that he will be training with us next week but it will be touch and go as to whether he'll be invovled against Falkirk on Tuesday night. With two games coming up against Motherwell and Rangers at home before the international break, we think he's more likely to be involved in those."

Jefferies conceded that the next week could be crucial in deciding how Hearts' season pans out, with today's game against Inverness followed by the midweek trip to face Steven Pressley's Bairns.

The Tynecastle side then head into the league matches with Motherwell and Rangers at Tynecastle and Jefferies continued: "We've got a big week coming up. If we can get a couple of wins under our belt then that really sets us up nicely for the games against Motherwell and Rangers before the international break. This is such a tight league, I don't think you can really assess how things are going until you have played maybe ten or twelve games. Everyone is capable of beating everyone else. We are disappointed not to have a few more points in the bag but you have got to give the other sides credit for making it so difficult for us."