Maybury happy to take on captain's role against French

PAUL KIDDIE

STAND-IN Hearts skipper Alan Maybury today spoke of his pride at leading the Jambos to derby victory at Tynecastle - and insisted he’d jump at the chance to repeat the experience when Bordeaux visit in the UEFA Cup on Thursday.

The Irishman was handed the armband for the first time when captain Steven Pressley was forced out of the action midway through the first half of Sunday’s hard-fought clash with Hibs, the Scotland star’s thigh strain looking set to sideline him for a considerable period.

With midfielder Scott Severin also absent through injury at the weekend, the leadership duties fell to Maybury and the former Leeds United defender responded in fine fashion as the Gorgie outfit avenged the defeat at Easter Road in August with a comfortable 2-0 victory, own goals from Alen Orman and Gary Smith seeing Hearts carve open a seven-point lead in third place over nearest rivals Motherwell.

With Pressley already ruled out of the Euro crunch and Severin still battling to be fit for the visit of Michel Pavon’s side, there is every chance Levein will ask Maybury to continue in the lead role, an experience which the feisty 25-year-old would no doubt relish.

"Elvis overstretched in the first half and realised he had to go off. I didn’t go looking for the armband but he came over and handed it to me," he said.

"We had a young and relatively inexperienced back four on the park after Elvis went off. The boss told me at half-time that the emphasis was on me to keep us organised, ensure our line stayed right and basically keep everyone right which is Elvis’ job among a lot of other things. I have captained the youth team at Leeds before and also skippered the Republic of Ireland Under-21s. I like the responsibility as it keeps me on my toes and keeps my concentration levels up as I get onto everyone else during the match."

He added: "I don’t mind the responsibility but it’s a team effort. Sunday was the first time I had captained Hearts but it wasn’t the same as leading them out at the start. Elvis handed me the armband, I was proud to take it and delighted with the win.

"This is a massive week for the club and if the boss wants me to captain the team on Thursday then so be it. But I’d happily hand it back to Elvis as he is such a big player for us and we could have Scott Severin available again after injury.

"Elvis has played a lot of big games recently and maybe that had something to do with his injury. If the gaffer wants me to be captain then I’d be delighted. If Seve gets it then fine. I just want to enjoy this derby win for a moment then start thinking about the Bordeaux match."

Hearts will go into the second round, second leg tie against Bordeaux with a 1-0 advantage following Mark de Vries’ dramatic winner in the Stade Chaban- Delmas three weeks ago.

The derby triumph was just the result the Jambos were looking for ahead of the Euro crunch and Maybury is hoping the team can now go on and complete a memorable double this week when the French cracks visit Gorgie.

"We knew we would have to battle on Sunday but if we matched their workrate we were confident that we had the ability to open them up," he said.

"We competed well and I think any of the good football which was on show was played by us.

"It is nice to win derby matches although it’s not always pretty. At the end of the day, though, all that matters is getting the points.

"This is a huge week for the club but we couldn’t afford to let our minds wander at the weekend. We could have started the week badly but we got the right result to set us up for a full house against Bordeaux.

"There were a few sore bodies after the game on Sunday as there were some tackles flying in but you expect that in derby matches and nobody is complaining.

"The goals we got were maybe a bit fortuitous but a win is a win and everybody on this side of the city will be happy.

"That was our sixth win in a row and I think we have shown a lot of resilience in that run since losing heavily to Celtic at Parkhead. Now it’s Bordeaux in the UEFA Cup and it’s a game we are all looking forward to and let’s hope we can get another good result."

Taken from the Scotsman