Elvis: It's to get right now or never back on song

Hearts captain calls on squad to signal their intent by being ruthless against SPL strugglers

PAUL KIDDIE

IT’S now "make or break" time for Hearts, according to captain Steven Pressley.

The Scotland star leads his men into the Lions’ den at Almondvale tonight insisting the team can ill afford any more slip-ups in the league.

Richard Gough’s struggling Livingston side play host to the Jambos, with the Tynecastle men knowing nothing less than victory will do if hopes of catching third-placed Hibs are to be sustained.

The disappointing 1-1 draw with Dundee on Saturday has left John Robertson’s outfit trailing their arch rivals by 11 points, this evening’s game in hand offering the opportunity to at least trim that deficit.

"It certainly wasn’t the result we were looking for at the weekend and was very frustrating considering it was a game we absolutely dominated," said Pressley.

"Once we get on top of teams as we did in Dundee, we have to be more clinical and score more goals.

"That is not a slur on the strikers as everybody in the team has a responsibility to score. It is the same when it comes to defending. It is not just down to the back four, it’s the entire unit. At this moment in time everybody has to take it upon themselves to look to make an impact.

"This is a make or break period for our season in terms of the impact we can make. I said we had to beat Dundee at the weekend but we didn’t. Now we have to win at Livingston."

The West Lothian side slumped to a nightmare 4-1 defeat at home to Inverness Caley Thistle on Saturday, the reverse leaving the Lions propping up the SPL table.

Pressley & Co will be preparing themselves for a backlash from the wounded Lions still smarting from the heavy defeat administered in stunning fashion by Inverness Caley Thistle on Saturday.

"Livingston had a poor result at home to Inverness on Saturday when they lost 4-1," said Pressley. "We will have to go there and give a similar performance to Inverness. We know we are capable of turning teams over on a regular basis but we have to make our dominance in matches pay off.

"We are unbeaten in five games now after the visit to Dens Park but we have to start turning some of those draws into victories - and we need one at Almondvale."

The final whistle at Dens Park brought a chorus of boos from the travelling support, who had seen their team dominate the majority of the 90 minutes without looking threatening enough in front of Derek Soutar’s goal.

It is a problem which has afflicted the Jambos for some time now as Robertson attempts to mould his team into a better passing side.

Pressley has called on the fans to stay behind the team as the Jambos enter their most significant series of fixtures since the UEFA Cup campaign.

While they may have dropped off the pace in the race for third place, there is still a CIS Cup semi-final clash against Motherwell at Easter Road next week to look forward to, while a home tie against Kilmarnock in the fourth round of the Tennent’s Scottish Cup is also looming.

"We all have to stick together, continue to believe in the system and continue to work hard," said Pressley. "Given our busy schedule over the next three or four weeks it is going to be difficult to do that on the training ground. But we once we do get the time, we will have to concentrate on our crossing and finishing as we have to get our noses in front in games we dominate."

Pressley is someone whose glass is half full as opposed to half empty and he insists there is still much to be encouraged about despite the club’s struggle to retain the third-place position it has made its own for the last two seasons.

"There are so many positives at this club just now yet there is always an air of negativity surrounding Hearts," he said.

"It is about time we got rid of that and we can start to achieve that by producing results on the park. We still have something to play for in all the domestic competitions, more so than any other team.

"Mr Romanov has come in and promised a bright future for the club, the future of the stadium itself is being re-addressed and we enjoyed a tremendous experience in Europe this season.

"There are so many positives yet people are still being negative.

"This is a very crucial period for Hearts. In a couple of weeks’ time we could be faced with the mouth-watering prospect of a CIS Cup final and a quarter-final of the Scottish Cup.

"The opportunity is there in front of us and we have to do our best to make the most of it."

Taken from the Scotsman