Levein is fired up by jibes

PAUL KIDDIE

RAGING Hearts manager Craig Levein today urged his players to silence bragging Braga boss Jesualdo Ferreira by dumping the Portuguese out of the UEFA Cup.

The Gorgie chief is seething at comments made by his opposite number in newspapers this week, Ferreira claiming the Jambos were lucky to win the first leg 3-1 as they have poor technique and no good players.

Levein is set to use the remarks from big-mouth Ferreira to help galvanise his side ahead of tonight’s first round, second-leg showdown in the Estadio Municipal, Hearts defending the two-goal advantage from Murrayfield as they try to secure a place in the new lucrative group stage.

"Their coach has been very disrespectful again in the papers over here," said Levein.

"He has said we were lucky to win at Murrayfield and had no good players at all, as well as no technique.

"That is insulting to me and the players and, to be honest, it is very annoying.

"Maybe he does have players who earn a lot more money and maybe they are technically gifted. But I don’t think being disrespectful is the way to go about things.

"Maybe his team just didn’t perform in the first leg and maybe they won’t perform tonight. Who knows? We will see what happens this evening but we’re not too happy about what has been said, that is for sure."

Ferreira has insisted he sees no reason to do anything special to combat Hearts’ threat this evening.

"I don’t think we will qualify, I know we will," he said.

"I don’t have anything special planned and am very optimistic we will go through. We drew with Benfica in the Stadium of Light at the weekend and we have the team, spirit and technique to make the difference."

Injury victim Kevin McKenna is set to play his first game of the season in a 4-5-1 formation.

McKenna said:

"I’ve had no ‘bounce’ games, no friendlies and only two days’ training - but I feel ready to play. As a footballer you always have to be ready."

Mark de Vries could feature from the bench despite being hampered by his foot injury but it is at the other end of the park where the Jambos will have to be on top of their game.

Levein has pinned his faith on a successful outcome on his on-form defence with Steven Pressley & Co having seen their backline breached just twice in the league this season.

"What makes me hopeful about tonight is the fact we have something to protect," he said.

"We have a good defence, work hard and are well organised.

"With a bit of luck, hopefully, that will take us through. You just have to look at the stats - we are a hard team to beat

"I think the players understand the significance of the match.

"The training has been unbelievably competitive at the start of the week with the players obviously desperate to get the chance to play."

Taken from the Scotsman