Shell-shocked Hearts set to welcome back Elvis at Dunfermline

HEARTS skipper Steven Pressley is set to hand boss Craig Levein a timely boost with a return to the first team for the weekend trip to Dunfermline.

The captain was ruled out of Saturday’s Tennent’s Scottish Cup fourth-round clash with Inverness Caley Thistle and his influence was badly missed by the home side as they were sent spinning out of the competition by the First Division underdogs.

Pressley missed the 3-1 defeat after picking up a stomach virus but will be back in his usual place for the league meeting with the Pars.

His availability will be a huge lift for Levein, whose team struggled badly without their captain’s calming influence at the back.

"I am not making excuses for what happened on Saturday but we missed Steven Pressley hugely," he said.

"I was very disappointed with a number of things but particularly our defending which was abysmal. And that is something which we will be working on in training.

"With Kevin McKenna away with Canada and Elvis out, our normal defence was considerably affected. We had a three-man back line of a midfielder, a left-back and a 19-year-old lad. It was definitely not our strongest defence but we still should have done much better.

"We must regroup now as we need to get this performance out of our system. We must concentrate on getting back to what we know best.

"While I can’t fault the players for not trying to win the game against Inverness, we are not a good enough side to play at half pace. We are just not talented enough to do that. I am hoping we can put the Inverness game down to just a bad day at the office but it was all the more disappointing after the way the guys had been performing.

"Elvis hadn’t eaten for a couple of days after the Celtic game last week and was totally washed out. But he should be fine for the weekend and that will obviously help us in what promises to be a tough match at East End Park.

"Dunfermline also lost to opposition from a lower league on Saturday and will no doubt have had their backsides kicked."

McKenna was on target again for Canada at the weekend as the Gold Cup holders defeated Martinique in a penalty shoot-out in Miami to set up a semi-final showdown with the USA in Pasadena on Wednesday.

The former Bundelsiga stopper headed home a second-half equaliser, saw a late strike ruled out and then converted during the spot-kick drama to help send his country through to the last four.

The defender also bagged a double in Canada’s opening win over Haiti to underline his goalscoring abilities and Levein said: "I suppose we are a victim of Kevin’s success at the moment. He has done well for Canada recently but that doesn’t surprise me at all as he is a quality player."

The final of the Gold Cup is scheduled to take place on Saturday evening in Pasadena.

HEARTS take on Rangers tonight at Forthbank (7pm) in the Under-21 league.

Taken from the Scotsman