Hearts striker Stephen Elliott thinks the gaffer's tactics were the difference between the two teams in Saturday's Clydesdale Bank Premier League encounter against Hamilton.

Speaking after his double gave the Jambos a 2-0 victory at New Douglas Park, the Irishman lavished praise on manager Jim Jefferies for his positive line-ups.

"The formation the manager plays has been very successful for us, and as a result everybody has been playing well," he said.

"It was quite strange the way Hamilton set up, we maybe expected them to come at us a bit more but it was their decision to play like that and we just had to make sure we did our job properly.

"They set out to make it really difficult for us to play. We knew Hamilton's confidence was going to be low with the run they're having, so we went out there and did a professional job."

The Republic of Ireland international played as a central striker on Saturday, a role which can bring its challenges.

Stephen said: "I was happy enough to be able to play through the middle. At times it's frustrating as you feel the ball is moving sideways a lot and you need to try and move and create space for yourself. But you've just got to be patient and hopefully if the chance comes along then take it.

"I had a second-half shot that the keeper saved, so the hat-trick wasn't to be. But two will do for me!"

Andy Webster made his second Hearts debut in the win and Stephen believes the Jam Tarts now have real strength in depth.

He added: "I thought Andy did really well. He didn't have that much to do but he's a good footballer, you can see that. He's an addition to an already strong squad. You can see with the substitutions we had coming off the bench today in Andy Driver and David Templeton, just how strong our squad is."

Hearts' next game is a home clash with Dundee United, a team that may yet prove to be a contender for third spot in the league. Stephen, however, is confident that the Tynecastle men will continue their good form.

He stated: "Our aim now is to cement third place and it was important that we bounced back with a victory today after our defeats to the Old Firm. There's a big gap now between us and fourth, and hopefully we can keep it that way."

On Hearts.TV and the Hearts App today - listen to all the exclusive post match reaction from Hamilton, plus don't miss the highlights of another terrific away win.