James Penrice's brilliant Hearts one liner for James Wilson after red card as he seeks avenging European pain

James Penrice is keen to make up for Hearts European pain earlier this season - as a mix of sympathy and tongue in cheek remarks are sent the way of James Wilson.

The left-back and his teammates are gearing up for a top six decider against Motherwell in the Premiership. A win at Fir Park on Saturday would seal a top six place and defeat would would them in the bottom half heading into the post split games and Scottish Cup semi-final vs Aberdeen.

They will be without young striker Wilson, who was sent off against Dundee United last weekend. It’s something he knows the striker has had to face up to and there’s been a mix of arms around the shoulder and joking digs.

Hearts dressing room reaction to red card

Penrice said: “There's been a couple of jokes to be fair. You've got to laugh about it now. It's done. He'll probably be disappointed but he's a young boy and he's got so many more years in the game. I'm sure he'll be fine. I was the one calling him a thug. To be fair his young brothers are down there so we're asking them and they think it's a red card too. He's against it. But he's got so many more years in the game and he'll learn from it but he'll be fine. He's a setter himself and he's a regular now so it's fair play to him. He's a Scotland cap as well. He's had a brilliant season and I'm very impressed with him. He'll be back very soon.”

Penrice knows victory in Motherwell would set the stage for one final push to try and get back into Europe. Hearts narrowly missed out on getting out the Conference League phase with a disappointing draw with Petrocub and after experiences like Dinamo Minsk in Azerbaijan, he is keen for more.

The left-back added: “ I want to experience what I experienced there along the season. It's my first time, a lot of the boys down there have done it a couple of times. I was buzzing with any game we played in Europe, I was so up for it. It's a great experience, not just for me but my family as well, coming to their games. A couple of family members went to their away trips as well so it's a great experience for them and I would obviously love to have that again.

“Probably the seven hour flight to Azerbaijan to be fair (that stuck with him from campaign). That was the longest flight I've ever been on but yeah, that full trip was a bit nuts to be fair. It was a good start to the campaign and then a poor end so definitely we would love to fix them. Our focus right now is just on getting into the top six. We've not looked any further forward, it's all about this game at Motherwell. That's the only focus that we've geared towards.”

Personal praise

Since signing from Livingston, Penrice has been a consistent and reliable performer, replacing a man in the same mould and making it look easy, Alex Cochrane. For Penrice, the team winning and him simply playing a part would be alright with him.

He added: “It's obviously good but if I'm being totally honest I would rather have the team flying and me just being a part of it. I've said it numerous times, I come here to win stuff and play in big games and it's obviously brilliant if the club are doing so well because it means the boys are doing well as well. That's more important to me is that the club are doing well than the personal praise.

“I knew it was going to be difficult. Obviously Alex left but it's the same at every club. There's competition for places and it's better for the club if they've got good players in different positions. I saw myself coming in here and playing. Probably not as much as I have but I feel I've equipped myself quite well in my first season and hopefully it can continue.”