MILLEN'S EYES ON A HEARTS DOUBLE

ANDY MILLEN is celebrating his 25th year as a professional this season so it's fair to say he knows the score.

St Mirren's player-assistant manager knows if his team and Hearts both play at their best this afternoon there will only be one winner. And it won't be Saints.

But for much of the season St Mirren have made sure the opposition haven't played at their best which is why they are sitting above Dunfermline and Motherwell in the SPL.

And although they've lost three on the bounce Millen believes his team can do the double on a Hearts team they beat in Gorgie this season.

He said:"Hearts have good quality international players and although we beat them at Tynecastle we rode our luck.That's what you have to do against the top teams.

"We'll have to work very hard against them at Love Street and we'll have to carry a wee bit of luck.We need to play well and hope they don't play as well as they can.

"That's the way we have to approach it against all the top teams and Hearts come into that category."

Millen, at 41, is the SPL's oldest player and the Saints defender admitted he's used his experience as much off the park over the last few weeks as on it.

He said:"People will look at our recent run, drawing two and losing the last three and think we are struggling.

"But we're new to this level and Gus MacPherson and I were under no illusions about how hard it would be.

"Our players know every point we get is like winning the lottery. We think we will stay in the SPL and when we do, this club will have taken a massive step. If somebody had told us we'd be third bottom with 16 points at this stage we'd have taken that.

"The bottom line is that the players do their best every week.That's all we can ask.We have belief in the boys and we trust them.

"If they keep doing what they've been doing we will be fine at the end of the season.

"I use my experience as much off the park, telling the boys,'don't worry about it'.

"There are worse things in life than what is happening to us just now."

Taken from the Daily Record