I DIDN'T CHEAT DONS BUT CELTS TRIED TO CHEAT US IN PAUL BID

Jan 31 2005

HART-ACHE RILES ELVIS, NOT NOEL JIBE

By Gary Ralston

STEVEN PRESSLEY has refusted allegations of cheating as he turned instead on Celtic and accused them of dishonesty.

The Hearts skipper was left bemused and disappointed by a bizarre attack from Aberdeen striker Noel Whelan,who labelled him a coward and a cheat.

Pressley was clearly sent tumbling in the box by Whelan in the second half incident at Tynecastle that led to Dennis Wyness' spot-kick winner in the Jambos' 1-0 victory.

Whelan lost the rag and was immediately subbed by Jimmy Calderwood - who admitted he saw little wrong with the award - as the Dons boss promised to resolve the temper tantrums that have seen his star striker hauled off twice in as many weeks.

Whelan, 30, continued his complaints afterwards as he accused the Scotland stopper of play-acting and vented his spleen at referee Mike McCurry in a foul-mouthed tirade.

Whelan said: 'What Pressley did was a disgrace - we were beaten bya cheat.

'For a professional footballer to behave like that is disgusting.'

But Pressley dismissed his claims as he trained his sights instead on Celtic and accused them of deliberately unsettling Paul Hartley.

Told of Whelan's accusations, Pressley said: 'He's entitled to his opinion and I'm entitled to mine and I genuinely thought it was a penalty. All my career I've prided myself on my professionalism and I continue to do so.

'I was pushed in the back and I went down. Noel wasn't happy with the decision and didn't think it was a penalty but I did. After the incident,those were the only cross words we shared - there is no feud.'

Pressley, 31, is raging with Celtic after they put in a£200,000 bid for Hartley - a sixth of the price the Hearts board reckon he is worth - then followed it up yesterday with another offer of just £100,000 more.

Hartley has now slapped in a transfer request in protest at being refused the opportunity to join his boyhood heroes but Pressley stressed the midfielder still enjoys the full support of the Hearts dressing room.

However,he echoed chairman George Foulkes' claims that Celtic have bid low in an effort to unsettle the player in the hope his agitation for a move pays off.

The Hearts board are determined to hold firm and will not allow one of their best players to leave as a snip.

Pressley said:'We understand the club's point of view and everyone in the dressing room is delighted Paul is staying.

'As a friend, I'd hoped Paul would have been given the opportunity to go but, as the chairman has said,the way Celtic have handled this by making such a derisory bid has been disappointing. It's unsettling for a player who has been first class for us.

'Celtic are Paul's boyhood heroes and he's no different to anyone else - we all dream about playing for the clubs we grew up supporting.

'This is his big opportunity but the way it has been handled by Celtic has been disappointing.

'Celtic and Rangers are quite happy to go to the Continent and pay £1.5million for players they believe are good enough to play for their clubs.

'However,in turn they offer us only £200,000 and they know what they are going to get with him.Paul's proven in the SPL and his performances for Hearts have been top class.'

Hartley's patience snapped on Friday afternoon when he handed in his transfer request in protest at the lack of respect he claims has been afforded him by chief executive Chris Robinson.

The 28-year-old missed the 1-0 win over Aberdeen with a hamstring strain and stayed away from Tynecastle as he contemplated his future.

Hearts face Motherwell in the CIS Cup semi-final tomorrow night and Hartley is set to be named in the squad. But Pressley has no fears for his pal - - from team-mates or fans.

He said: 'Paul's trying to engineer his dream move and has put in a written transfer request and we all fully understand that.

'Our fans will understand it too. They follow Hearts and if they had the opportunity to play for this club they would cut their arms off for the chance.

'I spoke to Paul on Friday and he said that if the move to Celtic didn't happen his full concentration would still be set on Hearts and performing the way he has been recently.

'Paul's a tremendous lad, very popular in the dressing room and we're fully behind him 100 per cent. The position may change again in the summer with a move to Parkhead but I don't know the feelings of Celtic on that.'

Hearts boss John Robertson claimed his club are only protecting their prize asset, just as Martin O'Neill would do if one of the Premiership big boys came calling for his stars.

Robbo said: 'If Chelsea came to Celtic with a£2m offer for Chris Sutton and he said he wanted to go, would Martin O'Neill or Celtic fans accept the offer?

'It's the same scenario for us. If the price is right, Celtic submit it and the board accept it then Paul will be a Celtic player and will leave here with our best wishes.

'However, we're in the CIS Cup semi-final, still in the Scottish Cup and doing our best to track down Hibs and Paul is a massive player for us.

'How do we replace him with only days left of the transfer window, whether we get the money or not? It's virtually impossible.'

Robertson admitted Hartley could have shrugged off his hamstring strain to face the Dons but with the game against Motherwell looming and the player not in the best frame of mind, he decided to leave him out.

Robbo added: 'I understand his affection for Celtic and no one here would stand in his way. But to think they only rate him at £200,000 is an insult to Paul.

'I'm sure his attitude will be spot on if the tranfer window comes and goes and he's still here.

'I don't know if he took advice from his family or agent when considering his tranfer request, or whether he felt it something he had to do himself but we understands his dilemma.

'He may think we're standing in his way but we're not.'

Taken from the Daily Record