Finish the job- Elvis

PAUL KIDDIE

HEARTS captain Steven Pressley today urged his team-mates to clinch UEFA Cup glory against Bordeaux, the skipper telling them: "You can play yourself into history."

The Gorgie star will miss his side’s biggest game in Europe for 14 years through injury after limping out of Sunday’s win over Hibs.

But he will join 18,000 Jambos inside a capacity Tynecastle tonight hoping to roar the side on to a famous triumph.

"It should not be underestimated just how good a side Bordeaux are and if we can get through it would go down in the Hearts history books as one of our biggest scalps on the European stage," he said.

"They are a top quality outfit and it would be a tremendous achievement if we progressed. I said before we played Zeljeznicar in Bosnia that it had been a long time since a Scottish team outwith the Old Firm had progressed beyond the first round of the UEFA Cup. Now we have given ourselves the chance of staying in Europe beyond Christmas and hopefully the boys can go on and finish the job."

As he prepared to kick every ball from the main stand, Pressley is clinging onto the hope that he will still have a role to play for Hearts in the UEFA Cup this season.

"I was involved all last season in helping the team finish in third spot and secure a place in Europe," he said. "I was so excited at the prospect of playing in this fixture but it is not to be. I am gutted I won’t be playing but I think the Hibs game was maybe a bridge too far for me as I have hardly trained over the last five weeks while playing in a number of high-intensity matches.

"But this isn’t about me, it’s about everyone involved at the club. And while it would great for me personally if we got through, it would be fabulous for the club. And I honestly believe we have the players capable of doing it."

Taken from the Scotsman