Levein resists major changes

PAUL KIDDIE

HEARTS boss Craig Levein will resist the temptation to wield the axe for tomorrow’s clash with Rangers at Tynecastle.

The Jambos go into the game looking to atone for the woeful display at Fir Park a fortnight ago when Motherwell eased to a comfortable victory.

Levein will be looking for an appropriate response from his players when they take on the Glasgow giants and looks set to rely on the majority of the team which performed so poorly in Lanarkshire, handing the players the opportunity to redeem themselves.

Injury could rule out skipper Steven Pressley, the defender struggling to recover from the back injury which saw him sidelined for the recent Scotland games against Spain and Slovenia.

He missed training yesterday but was hopeful of taking some part in today’s session before making a final decision.

"It goes without saying that I am hopeful Elvis makes it," said Levein, who could hand Mark de Vries his first start of the season with the Dutchman having recovered from the hamstring injury which saw him miss out throughout August.

"Mark’s physical presence has been sorely missed," said the Hearts boss. "I think we have done well in a footballing sense without him but I am sure we would have picked up more points with him in the side."

With the concerns over Pressley and De Vries, Levein may leave it until the morning of the game to finalise his plans for the match.

"I have not settled on the team yet," he said. "Every now and then we throw in a game when we under-perform and that was certainly the case against Motherwell, much as they played very well.

"I don’t want to detract from their performance but we didn’t play well at all. The guys who are normally very consistent didn’t reach those usual high standards but I don’t think that discarding players left, right and centre after one poor performance is the right thing to do. We shouldn’t be too far away from the starting line-up at Motherwell."

De Vries, meanwhile, has revealed he would be happy to extend his stay at Hearts beyond next summer when his current contract expires.

However, the front man has put the thought of any contract negotiations to the back of his mind as he targets a return to the first team and a regular starting place again.

"I enjoy it here and would like to stay but that’s not been discussed yet," he said.

"I haven’t talked to anyone about it and just want to focus on the football side of things just now and wait for anything else."

The towering target man has been plagued by hamstring injuries since his arrival from Dordrecht in Holland and following discussions with the sports scientists at the club’s football academy at Heriot-Watt University, is set to embark on a special exercise programme aimed at strengthening those muscles.

"There appears to be a weakness there and I’ve been dealing with it for long enough now," he said.

"Maybe it may have something to do with the way the game is played in Scotland but I have never had these kinds of problems before in my 11 years as a professional.

"I am hoping to start a special programme within the next couple of days at the academy and that will be good.

"It’s started to annoy me and it will be good to get to the bottom of the problem and get it over with once and for all."

Taken from the Scotsman