MacFarlane looking for progress on every front

KENNETH STEPHEN

REFLECTING on a campaign which has seen Hearts all but confirm their status as the best Scottish side outside the Old Firm, Neil MacFarlane yesterday set his sights on surpassing last season’s points total and making significant progress in Europe.

MacFarlane is still hurting from this season’s foray into the UEFA Cup which saw Hearts crash out on aggregate to Bordeaux at Tynecastle despite a 1-0 away win in France in the first leg.

Not only does the midfielder want to beat last year’s tally of 63 SPL points, he also wants a return to Europe in order to prove that his side are good enough to hold their own at that level.

Coach Craig Levein believes a win today against Partick Thistle at Firhill could go a long way to making European football a reality for the second consecutive term, with closest challengers Dunfermline on Scottish Cup semi-final business.

MacFarlane said: "Our target is to beat 63 points and we are sitting on 54 at the moment. We said at the end of last season we were looking to improve, and that would be one way of doing so. Another way would be to get closer to Rangers and Celtic, and we have drawn with both of them recently. It would be brilliant to get back into Europe.

"In the same way we have tried to improve in the league, we have also talked about wanting to improve in the UEFA Cup. It was a disappointment to lose when we came back here after getting such a good result in Bordeaux, but, to be fair, they have proved to be a good side as well."

Despite several draws lately, Hearts have gone 11 games without defeat and are nine points ahead of the Pars.

Levein, who may have Christophe Berra available despite a broken nose, said: "We have a vastly superior goal difference [to Dunfermline] so, to all intents and purposes, I suppose we have a ten-point lead. If we win it would rise to 13, and that would make it difficult for Dunfermline to catch up with only eight games of their own left."

Taken from the Scotsman