Hearts ready to brave scene of cup tears Tynecastle side confident of stopping Celtic going top

Paul Sinclair

30 Nov 1996

HEARTS return to the field where their dreams were shattered on Sunday when they take on Celtic this afternoon at Parkhead.

After another cup final trauma at the hands of Rangers, albeit with a vastly improved performance, the Edinburgh club are trying to look at the positive side only six days after that 4-3 Coca-Cola Cup defeat.

"We have nothing to fear, because I feel we handled Sunday's situation very well," said Hearts manager Jim Jefferies.

"If we can find a level of consistency, then we can be a match for anyone and can be successful." Like Sunday, Jefferies will go into this match unable to select a number of key players.

Stefano Salvatore is still injured and the situation with club captain Dave McPherson has worsened - his ankle may need surgery.

The man who led them out against Rangers, Gary Mackay, is also injured, and one of Hearts scorers, David Weir, is suspended, but Jefferies can still find grounds for optimism.

"We have proved we can play at Celtic's standard this season by drawing with them in the league and beating them in the cup," he said.

Those two results are uppermost in the minds of the Celtic management, as they, too, try to recover from a defeat by Rangers and take the chance to go back to the top of the league.

"We've played Hearts twice this season and have failed to achieve twice," said Celtic's assistant manager, Billy Stark.

"We were disappointed that last week's match at Dunfermline was postponed, because we wanted to get back on the rails and back to the top of the league.

But, with Rangers not playing until Sunday, this is a chance for us to put some pressure on them." That pressure will be applied without the help of Pierre van Hooydonk.

He has returned from Holland, where he was receiving treatment on his injured leg, but the earliest he will play will be in the re-arranged fixture with Dunfermline on Tuesday.

Apart from him, Celtic will have the same squad that lost to Barcelona in midweek.

In the longer term, Paul McStay and Phil O'Donnell may be back playing in the reserve fixture with Hearts.

"Both players are coming along nicely," said Stark.

"We won't take a risk on them by playing them on hard ground.

But, if the pitch is soft, then they have a chance of playing." Italian trialist Guiseppe Fornciarra will also be eligible to play now that his registration has come through.

Hibs will be looking for only their second win under Jocky Scott's management when they play host to Motherwell today.

The desire is bound to be there, but Scott is hampered by a growing list of injuries and suspensions.

Captain John Hughes is still suspended, while Darren Jackson, and Kevin McAllister have been unable to train this week.

Defender Darren Dods may also be ruled out with a head injury he sustained in a reserve game.

The wound had to be treated with staples, and it will have to have healed sufficiently to allow them to be removed before he will be permitted to play.

Motherwell will be in much better shape for today's game.

Tommy Coyne will make his second consecutive start to a match, having scored a hat-trick in his first, Motherwell's 4-2 win at Rugby Park.

His reappearance, and goals, have lifted spirits at Fir Park.

Mitchel van der Gagg will miss today's match because of an eye injury, while Alex Burns' arm and Billy Davies's knee will be examined this morning.

Ray Sharp will play his first game for Dunfermline today at Tannadice since he rejoined them from Preston.

"Ray looks a lot more settled as a player than he did when he left two years ago, and even though I haven't seen him play a full game yet, I've no hesitation in selecting him," said Dunfemline manager Bert Paton.

Dundee United manager Tommy McLean is still smarting from last week's home defeat by Raith Rovers.

He will have to choose between goalkeepers Lance Key, who had a dreadful match last Saturday, French trialist Fabrice Grange, or taking a gamble on the fitness of Ally Maxwell.

Raith will be without Kevin Twaddle and Stevie Kirk, who were sent off last week at Tannadice, for their home match against Kilmarnock.

Tony Rougier returns, and manager Iain Munro is also hoping that the winger will sign a new two-year contract this week.

Kilmarnock will be without two key defenders - Neil Whitworth and Derek Anderson - through injury, while Billy Findlay and Mark Skilling are also ruled out.

Taken from the Herald