Falkirk captain Darren Barr has warned they cannot leave it too late to pick up their first Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League victory of the season.

And Barr insists Tynecastle would be the perfect place for Falkirk's young players to come of age.

The bottom club face Hearts looking for their first SPL win under Eddie May at the ninth attempt.

After three goalless draws in four SPL games, Falkirk were showing signs of improvement and ended a 520-minute goal drought when they took the lead against St Mirren last weekend.

But they lost three goals in the final quarter of the match to slump to a 3-1 defeat and Barr admits they need to improve quickly.

"(Assistant manager) Alex Smith keeps saying there is an art to winning a game and he is right," Barr said.

"Sometimes you just need to grind out results. It doesn't matter what age the team is, we just need to come together and get that win.

"It's frustrating because we have got good players and we've shown in games in the past that we can do it.

"But we need these three points sooner rather than later because we don't want to leave it too late."

Falkirk notched their first SPL win last season against Hearts and knocked them out of the Scottish Cup at Tynecastle, so Barr is optimistic.

"Tynecastle is a hard place to go to but it's also a great place to play," Barr added.

"It will be a great occasion for some of the boys who haven't played there before.

"They can show what they can do, we have some talented boys at the club."

Barr had helped Falkirk steady themselves after moving back to central defence from right-back following the loss of nine goals in their opening three league games.

Only one goal was lost in the subsequent four SPL games, so the St Mirren defeat came as a bitter blow to Barr and fellow centre-back Brian McLean.

"It was so disappointing because we were a goal ahead and from a defensive point of view because we had not lost many goals recently," he said.

"It was disturbing but I think we'll get through this, we just need to stay positive.

"I'm hoping it was just a one-off. I feel personally with Brian we have been doing well at the back.

"I feel it's coming together but when you're sitting bottom of the league it needs to come together right now. The boys can't feel sorry for themselves.

"At the start of the week maybe it was a wee bit down, but we have kicked on.

"It's plain and simple, we're bottom of the league but we just need to get on with it and get those three points."

Meanwhile, May has agreed to let young striker Paul Sludden try to secure a loan deal.

The 19-year-old was involved in the Europa League qualifying games against FC Vaduz but has since fallen out of the picture.

With no organised reserve football this season, May is keen for the top scorer in the under-19 league last season to get some game time.