5 point lead gave false comfort

A two-goal win for Hearts on Saturday lunchtime would be enough to move them into second in the table.  It would be reassuring to have an early opportunity to restore our five-point lead at the top of the table.  Another possibility is that Newco win at Tynecastle to go top, for a few hours at least.

Irrespective of how well our season has started, defeat in Paisley last time out suggests that five-point lead gave us some false comfort.  If they get through Saturday intact, Newco have the comfort of knowing that within the first seven games, they have already played away against four of the other five clubs in the top half of the table.  They have significantly fewer challenging periods ahead.

We were in a far worse situation this time last year, when we comforted ourselves with the knowledge that we had almost certainly come through our most difficult period.  With many eyes on the Champions League game on Wednesday, we first need to get the job done against Motherwell.