We can't lose any more ground to Hearts

George Burley's side may have crashed out of the CIS Cup to Livingston the other night, but their unblemished start in the SPL has seen them open up an eight-point lead over the Ibrox side.

The eagerly-anticipated showdown in Edinburgh is seen by many as the acid test of Burley's side.

Gers stopper Marvin Andrews has already stated this week that should Hearts open an astonishing 11-point lead over the champions tomorrow, then Rangers would still be confident of getting that deficit back.

Given Hearts would still have to face Alex McLeish's side three times, and meet Celtic four times, then that is not beyond possibility. And Rangers' SPL record at Tynecastle is excellent, having lost there just once in seven years.

But a focused Prso will go after only one result that suits - and that is three points.

The striker, who was rested for the midweek CIS Cup tie against Clyde, said: "Losing the game is just not an option for us. We need to go to Hearts and win and that will take a big performance from us.

"It's never an easy place to play, even if you are telling me that Rangers have a great record there.

"The two games I played there last season were battles. We drew one and won the other one with a penalty in the last minute.

"That was a great result for us in terms of the title,

although I was disappointed with the red card I received.

"It's a nice stadium with the fans very close to the pitch and I am sure this atmosphere on Saturday will be special."

Prso knows some of the players Burley has recruited from France. He admits he has been very impressed with the way they have settled into Scottish football.

However, ultimately, the likes of Slovak hitman Rudi Skacel and Roman Bednar will be judged on what they do against the Old Firm.

"I have been very impressed with them, as it's never easy when you have a lot of new players coming together, as we have found over the course of the past year," Prso said.

"The demands of Scottish football also make it even

harder. This league is unlike anything players coming from France, Spain or even England have experienced.

"But they seem to have settled quickly and Hearts deserve a lot of credit for winning the first seven league matches.

"I am sure they will have taken a lot of confidence from that, as a new team needs to win. I know everyone has been talking about them since the start. But don't forget Celtic, they are doing well and are a powerful team too."

Prso also believes both Hearts and Celtic have a massive advantage over Rangers with the demands of European football not on their schedule. Already the Champions League programme has taken its toll on the Ibrox title defence.

After beating Famagusta in Nicosia, Rangers lost up at Aberdeen. And after taking care of the Cypriots at home in the second leg, Prso and his team-mates were hammered

3-0 at home by Hibs.

This schedule, the former Monaco man admits, has him "eating and sleeping" football right now as the games come thick and fast.

He also pointed to the domestic results around Europe after matchday one in the Champions League as evidence of how draining these games can be.

Prso insisted: "That has to be a factor and it's a real benefit for Hearts and Celtic over us. But we wouldn't swap with them as we wanted the Champions League so much.
"But you only have to look at the effect it has on teams all over Europe to see how demanding it can be physically and mentally. I looked at the results on Monday. Barcelona and Real Madrid both beaten after playing in Champions League in midweek.

"In Italy, AC Milan and Udinese both lost after winning in the Champions League. Man United and Liverpool drew, while Lyon also had a 1-1 at Bordeaux after beating Madrid 3-0 with an amazing display.

"Even in our group, Porto drew 0-0 at the weekend. So there is no doubt it has an effect and I was just delighted we could beat Kilmarnock, as that is the most important thing."
Against the backdrop of this punishing programme, Prso has shone bright in the opening weeks of the season and has now become simply irreplaceable in the Rangers team.

His attitude and leadership - not to mention goal return and creation of chances for others - has McLeish wrapping him in cotton wool to make sure he's ready for challenges like the one he'll face tomorrow in the capital.

Prso is happy with his form and strike rate, but he smiled: "As you say here, it's no' bad! I could have had a couple more but, six in 10 games is OK.

"I always try to find a goal and that has maybe been a bit of a problem for us so far, but we will keep working at that.

"Right now the focus is solely on Hearts. I don't even want to think about Inter Milan, as this game is just so important for Rangers."

Taken from Evening Times