Pressley ends uncertainty with new deal

HEARTS captain Steven Pressley admits one of the reasons he stalled over signing a new contract was the injury heartache suffered by fellow Scotland international Christian Dailly.

Pressley eventually committed himself to the Gorgie club yesterday when he penned a two-year deal, with an option of staying an additional year. But the future of the Scotland international, 31, had been thrown into doubt following changes to the Bank of Scotland Premierleague contract procedures.

Pressley was technically a free agent, despite signing a new deal in March, after failing to agree with the clauses inserted into all contracts for top-flight players by the SPL. One of those clauses allows a club to terminate the contract of a player who has been injured for six months.

Dailly was beset by a series of injuries at West Ham United last season, missing eight months of their successful attempt to gain promotion to the Barclays Premiership. Pressley, who has played in the pre-season friendlies against East Fife, Stirling Albion and Middlesbrough as a trialist, sought talks with the club's power-brokers after seeing Dailly spend such a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

He said: "One of the issues was the position of players during injury. There is a six-month period where a player must prove his fitness. One of the problems I have with that is that one of my friends, Christian Dailly, found himself missing eight months of last season through injury.

"But he came back and is playing to the level he was playing at prior to that.

"It was a slight concern of mine but I think there has to be an element of protection for the players and of course there has to be protection on the club's side as well because the club has to protect itself. But we reached a compromise after discussions and I'm extremely happy with that."

Pressley, who reiterated his desire to finish his career with Hearts, also confessed that it wasn't just the clause in his contract that had to be rectified, but he refused to elaborate on other alterations.

He added: "There are a number of other issues but I really don't want to get involved in those, it's a private matter between myself and the club and I would rather it remained that way.

"It was slightly frustrating but I am just delighted both sides have reached a compromise, that was the main thing.

"In my own mind I knew I would never leave Hearts, I'm going into my eighth season with the club and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I love this football club and I believe I have found my home here."

Pressley refused to criticise the new SPL contracts and believes it is up to his peers to decide if they should take a similar stance with their respective employers.

He added: "I think there are a number of issues in it that need to be looked at but that's up to both parties, the player who's signing and the club. That's between them to come to a compromise as we did."

Pressley travelled to Hull yesterday afternoon to prepare for today's clash with Peter Taylor's side at the KC Stadium.

Hearts fielded a number of foreign trialists in their last friendly, against Middlesbrough in midweek, and some will feature against Peter Taylor's newly-promoted English Championship side.

Manager George Burley refused to comment on individual trialists but did say he's moving closer to bolstering his threadbare squad. Czech internationalist Rudi Skacel remains Burley's only signing so far.

He said: "No more trialists will be signed up before Hull, we have a number of things ongoing and hopefully, in the next three or four days, we will have a few more signings, that's what we are aiming for.

"A number of the boys that did well in midweek against Middlesbrough will be coming down. There is no doubt we are making progress in signing one or two trialists."

Lithuanian striker Edgaras Jankauskas and Czech front man Roman Bednar are expected to feature but Micahl Pospisil, another Czech, and Julien Brellier, a French midfielder, are set to miss out through injury.

Burley added: "We were very pleased with how it went on Wednesday against Middlesbrough and we will now look at it again for Hull. 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."

With a new manager and so many new players coming to the club, Hearts defender Jamie McAllister insists he is on trial every bit as much as the trialists.

"Everybody is starting with a clean slate and you've got to prove to the gaffer that you are worth a starting place," said the former Aberdeen and Livingston player.

"All the foreign boys and new boys that he is bringing in makes it all the more competitive. You've got to fight for your place so, yes, I'm still on trial."

Taken from the Scotsman