JJ plans to brief Hearts players on discipline

JIM Jefferies will address the Hearts players next week to outline the internal disciplinary code which he hopes will bring an end to continual SFA fines.

A record 60,000 penalty has been meted out to the Edinburgh club following a sixth successive season of poor on-field conduct last year. Of that amount, 50,000 must be paid within 30 days with 10,000 suspended until January pending good behaviour.

Jefferies is determined to confront the issue head on and stop Hearts being a continual target for disciplinary officials at Hampden park, who have penalised the club every year since season 2004/05.

Last season Hearts incurred a total of ten red cards and 89 cautions, the worst record in the SPL. Jefferies said he will gather the squad next week to demand improvement.

"We will do that," he said. "I will sit down and work out properly how we are going to go about it.

"The players won't be punished for everything, it's talking back and kicking balls away and stuff like that which have resulted in silly bookings.

"The players themselves lose out in that situation because they lose appearance money, they lose bonus money and they could lose their position if they get suspended. We'll sort it out because we don't want fines again next year."

Hearts were relieved to see Ismael Bouzid return to Edinburgh yesterday after spending Saturday night hospitalised in London with a suspected fractured skull. Tests at King's College Hospital showed that the injury, sustained in a collision with Millwall's Steve Morison on Saturday, was not as bad as first feared and the player was given the all-clear to fly home.