Elvis keen to succeed after putting club before country

PAUL KIDDIE

THERE is no-one more committed to Scotland’s cause than Steven Pressley but for once the Hearts captain put club before country in a bid to overcome his latest injury scare.

The defender had to reluctantly rule himself out of Wednesday’s friendly against Wales in Cardiff after hurting his back in the derby showdown with Hibs at Easter Road.

Had the Scots been facing a World Cup qualifier in midweek, the 30-year-old would have gambled on his fitness to answer his nation’s call. But with the Jambos currently in the middle of a crucial period of league games, Pressley decided to err on the side of caution with the race for Europe still very much in the melting pot.

The Hearts skipper reported back to the club yesterday for treatment on his back and was hoping to come through today’s training session with no ill effects to allow him to line up against former club Dundee United in the Capital tomorrow.

Having recently been out of action for six weeks with a pulled thigh muscle - and a history of back problems since he arrived at Tynecastle - the last thing the centre half wanted was to jeopardise his involvement on the domestic scene.

Craig Levein’s side has responded well to the Tennent’s Scottish Cup exit to Celtic by defeating Aberdeen, and then drawing with Hibs last weekend in a match they should also have won.

And Pressley is determined to shrug off the disappointment of sitting out the Welsh clash at the Millennium Stadium by helping the Gorgie outfit press home its advantage in the battle for third place in the SPL, Hearts currently three points ahead of nearest rivals Dunfermline with a game in hand.

"I am hopeful I will be okay for tomorrow," he said.

"The back is feeling a lot better which is encouraging.

"Because of the problems I have had in the past, I normally wear a support around my lower back and pelvic area during games. But I decided not to in the first half at Easter Road on Sunday and unfortunately it proved to be the wrong decision. I have a programme of exercises to do which is designed to strengthen that area of my body and I will now have to concentrate on it again.

"Although things had improved when I was down in Wales with the Scotland squad, I didn’t think it was worth the gamble of playing on Wednesday night. I don’t mean to undermine the importance of friendlies but I would have risked it had the match been a World Cup qualifier, for example.

"However, I am 30 years of age now and have to consider my future and I have to be more careful about injuries.

"In the past I have always been one to play on through an injury, sometimes to my own detriment. I have been out for a few weeks recently so I didn’t think it appropriate to take any chances on this occasion.

"I could have played against Wales and then found myself out for another spell and I didn’t want to jeopardise missing the run-in to Hearts’ season. Also, there are other internationals coming up as well as an end-of-season tour, so there will be other opportunities with Scotland."

Hearts play host to a United side which will have taken plenty of confidence from their performance against champions-elect Celtic last weekend, the Tangerines having threatened a major upset with Alan Archibald’s goal seeing Ian McCall’s outfit enter the closing stages of the Parkhead clash with their noses in front.

Late goals from Shaun Maloney and Chris Sutton, though, meant their efforts ultimately proved fruitless.

"I am sure United will have taken a big lift from their display at Parkhead," added Pressley, who was the Jambos’ goal hero at Easter Road with his second-half penalty conversion.

"They are a very capable side and dangerous opponents we will have to be wary of. This is an important month for the club and it is vital we try to win our games at Tynecastle. Now that we are out of the Scottish Cup, the league takes on even greater importance for us as that now remains the only route open into Europe.

"Dunfermline are still breathing down our necks and it is important we try to maintain some daylight between ourselves and them.

"We have bounced back well from going out of the cup and all felt we should have won the derby last weekend. It was disappointing not to take all three points but at least the draw kept the momentum going after the win over Aberdeen and we have to look to continue that tomorrow."

Pressley’s strike against the Hibees was his second such effort in as many games and he shared a laugh about his expertise from the spot with United goalkeeper Paul Gallacher while in Cardiff this week.

"That’s over two years I have been taking them for Hearts now and I didn’t think I would last that long. I told Paul exactly where I put my penalties when I spoke to him this week!

"Seriously, though, he said that United were greatly encouraged by their display in Glasgow and are looking forward to coming to Tynecastle.

"We’ll have to make sure that we continue our good home form, which is key to sustaining any league challenge."

Pressley, meanwhile, insists Scotland will bounce back from their 4-0 hammering in the impressive Millennium Stadium.

He said: "I honestly didn’t feel there were four goals between the sides. We played some decent stuff at times and just got punished every time we made a mistake.

"We were all hugely disappointed at the end of the game and the dressing room was very subdued.

"I felt really sorry for the players as I didn’t feel we performed that badly. Hopefully it is an experience to be learned from."

Taken from the Scotsman