Motherwell top scorer John Sutton has revealed his contract talks over a new deal have been put on ice until after Saturday's Scottish Cup Final with Celtic.

The powerful striker has recorded a career-best 17-goal haul over the current campaign and his signature is now very much in demand.

Hearts boss Jim Jefferies is believed to have developed an interest in the affable Englishman after he scored on three occasions against the Tynecastle side this term.

The 27-year-old former Tottenham Hotspur trainee, who had a spell with Millwall, is also thought to be attracting attention down south but, for now, Sutton has vowed to put on the blinkers and deliver a career-best performance.

Sutty is determined to once again prove the Hammer of the Hoops following his brace against the Bhoys on February 27.

He said: "The contract issue is something that will wait until after the Scottish Cup Final.

"Right now all my attention is focused on that and we will look at the contract situation next week.

"I have never made any secret of the fact that I am really enjoying myself at Motherwell. It is a great place to play your football.

"The manager has come in and made a couple of good signings in the likes of Franny Jeffers and Stevie Jones, and we have had a very good second half of the season to claim both a top-six place and make the Scottish Cup Final.

"We have already beaten Celtic this season and that is a big plus going into the final.

"Now, though, we know that we are going to produce our best if we want to win and everything is geared towards that."

Sutton was rested for last Sunday's SPL finale at Celtic Park when Well shipped four goals without reply.

But with Fir Park gaffer Stuart McCall resting six first- team regulars at Parkhead, Sutton has no doubt his mates will benefit on the domestic game's big day out.

He added: "This is the biggest day of our season and it is also the biggest day of most of the players' careers.

"I have only played in one cup final before as a pro and that was the Bell's Cup Final for St Mirren against Hamilton a few seasons back and at the time it was massive for me. In fact it is still a memory I treasure.

"But to be leading the line for Motherwell against Celtic in the Scottish Cup Final is just on a different level. A lot of top professionals will go their entire career without playing in a cup final; it is one of those occasions that you will always hold dear.

"What we have to do now is deliver a performance that will make the whole of Motherwell proud. We know how tough that will be with Celtic determined to make up for losing the league by winning the cup.

"Also the fact they will be determined to do that for Neil Lennon, but we have to focus solely on ourselves.

"We believe that if we play to our best we can win. The final is the biggest stage in the domestic game and it is up to us to use that platform to show what we can do."

Forbes: Don't freeze in biggest game ever

By Bert Mitchell

Ross Forbes today urged his Motherwell team-mates to grab the opportunity to be heroes this weekend – because they might not get ano-ther chance.

The midfielder, 22, is relishing the prospect of his first Scottish Cup Final but, with Well last reaching the final when they won the silverware back in 1991, Forbes is well aware it could be his last taste of such an occasion.

He said: "Winning a cup, with a team like Motherwell, you could be a legend for the rest of your career at that club.

"Everybody wants to do it for the club and for ourselves and we will see what happens.

"The senior players have told us to make the most of it because we don't know if we will get there again. Hopefully we do get another shot, but we just have to make the most of this chance.

"It would be massive for the club. The last time we won it was 20 years ago and it's not that often a team like Motherwell get to the final. We just need to give it everything we've got and hopefully it's good enough on the day."

Celtic defeated Motherwell 4-0 last Sunday in the final SPL game of the season, but Forbes instead chose to draw confidence from the 2-0 victory over the Hoops in February.

He said: "They can be beaten. They are not a super-power. Anything can happen. We will go in there full of confidence and show belief in ourselves.

"We just need another performance like the one at Fir Park. If we play to our best, we can win.

"We will be the underdogs and some people won't expect us to get anything from this game but we have confidence in ourselves.

"We won't just be going there to make up the numbers."