Jim Jeffries has many talents but, asked to name them, you probably wouldn't have had a Derren Brown style mastery of mind control high on your list.

"A bit of psychological managership" was the key for the Kilmarnock manager, as captain for the day Manuel Pascali and his midfield took a grip on this game and didn't let go.

Kilmarnock came to Tynecastle on a three-game losing streak, but Jefferies insisted that two of those - against Rangers and Celtic - didn't really count. Last week's loss to Inverness was a different matter.

"I gave Pascali a hard time last week because he sat back and protected the back four and I didn't want him to do that. What I wanted was for him to be a midfield player," said Jefferies. "I threw him the armband and I think that gave him the wee spur to go on. Today he was winning tackles and setting the tone. He was outstanding for me."

Jefferies' side bit into Hearts from the kick-off and with midfielders such as Laryea Kingston, Saulius Mikoliunas and Michael Stewart unwilling to compete with the hard but fair pressing and tackling, a scrappy game ensued, which more than suited Kilmarnock.

As frustration mounted, Jamie Mole gave the ball away then committed a foul 25 yards from his goal as he tried to win it back. Mehdi Taouil put Kilmarnock in front with a fine free-kick. Though Hearts equalised with a well-taken Kingston finish, Jefferies' side deserved the victory given them late on as Craig Bryson burst into the box for his first league goal of the season.

Pascali and Bryson are becoming a formidable partnership, the Italian proving an astute signing. "The captaincy was a surprise for me because I never thought about it," he said. "I want to say thanks to the gaffer for showing faith in me. Last week we had one of the worst matches in our season and it was important to take three points from this . . . Inverness was so horrible."

After a promising start, Hearts are beginning to show worrying signs of slipping back into bad habits. Captain Christophe Berra wondered if "some players maybe think we need to just turn up to win", suggesting a lack of commitment from some members of the team.

Csaba Laszlo will hope Andrew Driver is back from injury for the derby against a revitalised Hibs in less than two weeks to give his team a driving presence in midfield, but his biggest problem is the lack of a dangerous striker.

Mike Tullberg had an unimpressive debut, failing to get on the end of a couple of decent deliveries, while Mole is hard-working but not much else.

Hearts were back at training yesterday for video analysis and were "not looking forward to it" according to Berra. If Laszlo's commentary is anything like his interminable rambling responses to post-match questions, no wonder.