GEORGE BURLEY knew he would have to hit the ground running as the new Hearts manager - but he probably didn't expect to have to sprint from the blocks like Justin Gatlin.

Due to the Gorgie club's painstaking search for a replacement for John Robertson, the arrival of the vastly-experienced Scot in the Gorgie hot seat left little time for him to sit back and relax in his new surroundings.

Assuming control barely a month before the start of the SPL season, time was of the essence as the former Derby manager tried to weigh up the squad at his disposal and line up possible recruits before the big kick-off.

Relying heavily on "super scout" Simon Hunt and his impressive network of contacts, the new Hearts chief cast his net far and wide as he began what he freely admitted was a "massive rebuilding job."

The fruits of their labours culminated in an array of trialists taking to the field for Wednesday's friendly against Middlesbrough, no fewer than six foreigners pulling on maroon jerseys for the clash against Steve McLaren's Premiership aces.

It's basically been a crash course in recruiting for the new management team, who are poised to add strikers Edgaras Jankauskas, Roman Bednar and Michal Pospisil to the payroll.

It's a situation the new man would have preferred to take more time with but that is simply not a luxury he can afford with the trip to Rugby Park and his native Ayrshire looming ever larger on the horizon.

"We are trying to squeeze six weeks of preparation for the new season into around two weeks, which isn't ideal," he said.

"But that's the reality and something which has to be done."

Andy Webster headed a deserved equaliser against Boro in midweek eight minutes from time and the performance of the patchwork Jambos was highly encouraging for the home support, Burley himself admitting to being pleasantly surprised by the quality of football produced by his charges.

Having made a point of trimming the club's pre-season fixture schedule not long after his arrival, tomorrow's trip to the KC Stadium to take on Hull City provides the last opportunity for the manager to see his players in a match situation.

"We were very pleased with how it went on Wednesday against Middlesbrough and we will now look at it again for Hull tomorrow," he said.

"I know Peter Taylor very well and he is a very good manager. They have a new stadium there and I'm sure there will be a big crowd there, too.

"They won promotion to the Championship last season and are a very good side. It promises to be a very good test and it's a game I'm looking forward to."

Midfielder Paul Hartley is determined to keep the pre-season momentum going with another good result against tomorrow's hosts.

The Tynecastle side have yet to taste defeat in their warm-up games and while some of the performances have left a lot to be desired, the Scotland star knows it's all about peaking for the SPL curtain raiser at Kilmarnock.

The former Hibs and St Johnstone playmaker was impressed by the quality of the new arrivals on Wednesday and reckons the positive vibes surrounding the club following the arrival of the new manager can only have a galvanising effect on the team.

He said: "The lads came in against Middlesbrough and did very well. A lot of the guys hadn't even trained with us and it was the first time we had even seen them. I thought we played well on Wednesday and one or two of the guys really impressed. If that is the standard of player the new boss is going to bring to the club then it bodes well for the rest of the season.

"I hadn't heard about many of the boys who came into the team but they looked quality and that is what we need.

"The fans turned out in big numbers during the week and I think they were impressed by what they saw.

"Over the past couple of seasons the talk surrounding the club has mostly been bad but things have changed now.

"Hopefully we can use that as a platform for the new season.

"We have another game against Hull tomorrow and it's another chance for us to take another step towards making sure we are ready for the game against Kilmarnock next weekend."

He added: "We haven't lost a pre-season match this summer and while results at this stage don't count for anything, it's always good to keep winning and that's what we'll be looking to do at Hull.

"I'm not sure how many players who were involved against Middlesbrough are going to sign but tomorrow is another opportunity to work on our shape and improve the match fitness.

"Rudi Skacel has signed and he looks very good. His technical ability is excellent and he looks an exciting player, something which I think the fans realised when they saw him against Middlesbrough."

Hartley has been constantly linked with a move to Celtic since the Parkhead's bid to sign him in January came to nothing.

He shrugged off all the speculation to maintain the impressive level of performance which saw him earn his first cap in the World Cup qualifier in Italy.

Burley is keen to hang to his best players and he is equally determined to add some quality of his own.

The recent influx of new faces in recent days is testimony to that - and it's all a far cry from just a few weeks ago when Hearts would have struggled to field a first team after the summer departures of the likes of Phil Stamp, Patrick Kisnorbo, Kevin McKenna, Ramon Pereira, Lee Miller and Mark Burchill.

"It's been a strange pre-season, really," said Hartley.

"One week we didn't have a lot of players, the next we've got 20-odd! But that's what the manager has had to do as there isn't a lot of time between now and the start of the season."

The Middlesbrough game gave the players a first taste of the new-look Tynecastle pitch, the dimensions having been altered to conform to UEFA regulations.

Contractors had been working around the clock to ensure the pitch - lengthened by a metre at each end and narrowed by two metres at either side (it now measures 100m x 64m) - was fit for action. Delighted to have a ground which is now UEFA compliant, Hartley says the onus is now on the players to ensure a return of the exciting European nights.

He said: "The pitch looked good and was in excellent condition as you'd expect for pre-season.

"We now have a pitch ready for European games so the next stage is to try to get there.

"It is going to take a lot of hard work. There are a lot of new faces here but things are very positive at the moment and we'll be doing our best to get off to a good start when the league gets underway next weekend."

Taken from the Scotsman