Pressley out of Ibrox trip

Graeme Crosser

HEARTS boss Craig Levein is resigned to being without skipper Steven Pressley for Saturday’s trip to face Rangers after the defender hobbled out of his comeback match against Kilmarnock.

The Scotland internationalist was a doubt going into the weekend victory over Kilmarnock and lasted less than 20 minutes before limping off with a recurrence of his thigh injury.

The skipper’s absence leaves Levein with a defensive crisis as he prepares to visit Ibrox with both Alan Maybury and Andy Webster suspended.

Top scorer Mark de Vries is also struggling and unlikely to play. As with Pressley, Levein gambled on the striker’s fitness against Killie but the Dutchman’s hamstring strain was evidently restricting his movement and he too had to retire early.

Levein said: "Both Steven and Mark are struggling. Steven trained for three days prior to the Kilmarnock game without any reaction so I thought to myself ‘he is all right’. That just proves that training is not the same as playing in games.

"He went to play the ball with his right foot and his thigh went. He then slipped and felt it again.

"I wouldn’t normally take him off but he indicated that he couldn’t go on.

"He just felt it go again and we’ll need to be careful with him.

"It just means that when he is back in training again and 100 per cent fit we’ll give it another week before using him in a game.

"Mark’s hamstring is still tight but I don’t think he has done any fresh damage to it. It just means that we’re going to be struggling a bit at Ibrox. We knew we were going to be without Alan Maybury and Andy Webster but to go there without Steven and Mark will make it even harder."

With the absentee list so long, some of Levein’s fringe players will have a chance to impress in Glasgow against a Rangers side who saw their title ambitions severely dented by a 2-0 defeat to Dunfermline yesterday.

Kevin McKenna replaced Pressley on Saturday and performed well in defence before switching to a forward role and setting up the opening goal for Andy Kirk. Robbie Neilson also climbed off the bench to operate as an emergency centre-half and did well while midfielder Neil MacFarlane also did his prospects no harm.

Levein added: "It’s too early to say what I’ll do at Ibrox but the three substitutes at the weekend all staked a claim and in many ways actually deserved to start the game.

"The thing I like about Kevin is that he gives you everything, whether he’s in defence or up front. I could play him in either position at Ibrox.

"Robbie did well at centre-half and he can consider himself unlucky not to have started, as can Neil because they have all been playing well in recent weeks."

Taken from the Scotsman