From Hearts News at Il Ciocco, Italy

Jim Jefferies tonight declared himself satisfied with a work-out victory against a local Barga XI here at Il Ciocco.

Describing the match as a "training exercise" the manager, who watched from the stand, conceded his players were tired after working tremendously hard in the Tuscan hills.

"These boys have trained hard all week and even this morning they trained hard," he told Hearts.TV immediately after the match.

"This was just a training exercise for us. It was a different route to get on the ball.

"It does not even class as a friendly game. They are bunch of lads who are trying to keep the score down. They got one chance through slack play and we missed a few chances.

"That was the first competitive training session in terms of playing different positions. We got plenty of the ball and plenty of touches. It was just about getting a run around.

"They are all very heavy legged and they played at a pace which suited the [opposition] team tonight.

"If they had not played this game tonight they would have trained again!"

And Jim is pleased with the effort of the players at the end of a tough week.

"Some of the boys were saying it was the hardest pre-season they ever had," he said.

"That was what we were here to do. In a couple of weeks we will se a major difference at Dunfermline.

"The players have worked hard and have competed well. They are pushing themselves in everything we ask them to do in this really hot climate and I have no complaints. They will reap the benefit."

On Hearts.TV today watch a full week's worth of interviews and features plus listen to post-match reaction from tonight's game and catch extended highlights later

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