STEVE BANKS has urged Hearts majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov to hand Stephen Frail the manager's job after the Edinburgh 1-0 derby triumph over Hibernian.

The goalkeeper believes the team has shown a marked improvement since Frail - nicknamed Shaggy after the Scooby Doo cartoon charcater - was promoted from assistant coach to caretaker boss. Romanov is on the hunt for a new manager and Banks reckon there would be no complaints from the dressing room if Frail's job was made permanent.

He said: "You can see by the way the lads are performing for him that they are right up for him being the manager."

Aberdeen stopper Jamie Langfield believes a poor start laid the foundations for his side's ultimately comprehensive 3-0 defeat at Dundee United.

Langfield was at fault for the first goal as his attempted clearance struck Noel Hunt and the ball rebounded into Aberdeen's unguarded net.

Celtic target Barry Robson then scored with a low drive in the 77th minute and a smart free-kick late on. Langfield raged: "We never really got started and we knew we had to come here and put on a bit of a show "Maybe the first goal galvanised them a bit, then Robson stepped up and scored another two and that was it, game dead."

Gretna skipper Paul Murray maintains his side can still escape the SPL trapdoor if they repeat the spirit shown in their 2-0 win over Falkirk.

The Black and Whites cut the gap at the bottom with Kilmarnock to nine points after their third league win of the season.

Murray said: "We know we have still to play a lot of games and when the split comes that's an even bigger opportunity to stay in this league.

"The motivation is looking at the table and seeing you are 11 points adrift and now we are nine. It is possible."