Pressley doesn't pull his punches as he slams Hearts knockers

Jambos skipper tired of suggestions that his club is slipping

HEARTS BY MARK BONTHRONE

HEARTS captain Steven Pressley today hit back at critics who claim the club is under-performing this season.

The Jambos’ failure to race into third spot in the SPL as they have done in the past couple of seasons has led to suggestions they are slipping as the country’s third force.

The loss of Alan Maybury and Mark de Vries to Leicester City, Vladimir Romanov’s protracted buy-out of chief executive Chris Robinson’s shareholding and the failure to so far tie-up any of the stars whose deals expire in the summer has also contributed to reports that all is not well in Gorgie.

However, Scotland internationalist Pressley has slammed such suggestions, pointing out that he and his team-mates are still well placed in the battle for third place and in both domestic cup competitions.

"I can’t for the life of me understand why we have received criticism this season," he said.

"We’ve read and heard a lot of bull**** about the club over the last period of time but there’s a lot to be positive about.

"We are probably the only Scottish side who can make an impact on all three competitions. We have the semi-finals of the CIS Cup to look forward to, we progressed in the Scottish Cup during the week and I believe we are still in a position where we can achieve UEFA Cup qualification through the league.

"The off the field on-goings have overshadowed the team for a long time but now there are positives there too.

"Our fans have got their wish now that the decision to sell the stadium has been reversed and we’ve also got Mr Romanov coming in and he has spoken very positively about the future of the club.

"I can’t understand why it’s been a bad season so far. We didn’t progress in Europe as far as we would have liked but we competed in six UEFA Cup games probably more than any club outwith the big two for a long time."

Although Pressley concedes the club’s European adventure, where they reached the lucrative group stages of the UEFA Cup, has had an effect on their domestic performances he is confident that now their participation is over they will start to climb the table.

"We have played more games than any SPL club at this moment with a relatively tight squad, he reasoned. Had Hibs and Aberdeen been in Europe like us I’m sure they would have had a dip in form too. But the season hasn’t finished and things can change very quickly in football.

"This is a big time for us and after winning against Dundee United and Partick I’m confident we can start getting the results we need."

And boss Robertson echoed his skipper’s comments insisting he can’t understand the negativity currently surrounding the club.

"People have been given us a bit of stick of late about our alleged poor run of form but I think we are doing okay. We have just come through two tough games against Dundee United and Partick and while one could have been drawn and the other gone into extra time we have dug out two results.

"The next few games could really shape the season and if we do well in them we could have a tremendous last quarter of the season to look forward to.

"Maybe it’s because of the standards Hearts have set in recent years that we are getting stick but the reason Hearts haven’t cruised into third is because there has been a massive improvement in Aberdeen and Hibs.

"But I’m sure a lot of teams would like to have our ‘poor’ season as we’ve had six matches in Europe and are in both domestic cup competitions."

Taken from the Scotsman