PRESSLEY HAILS TEAM SPIRIT

Hearts captain Steven Pressley believes the introduction of tennis tournaments by manager George Burley has helped foster the camaraderie which has kept the Edinburgh side unbeaten in the Bank of Scotland Premier League.

Since arriving at Tynecastle in the summer, Burley has brought in players from various countries including the Czech Republic, France, Greece and Brazil to bolster the Gorgie side which now sit proudly atop the SPL.

Pressley claims Burley's team-bonding ideas, including some trips to the tennis courts, has underpinned a remarkable beginning to the the season.

He said: "The team spirit has been the most pleasing thing this season.

"When you bring in a number of new players, and some of them are foreign, then there can be a problem with the language barrier but that has not been the case.

"We've got a fantastic spirit within the dressing room, all of the players get on extremely well and that's been reflected in our performances.

"I wasn't fearful before the season started but you often hear about teams taking their time to come together but we seem to have gelled very quickly.

"As a dressing room we pride ourselves in making newcomers very welcome.

"We've had a couple of get-togethers, we went out for a couple of meals together and the manager took us to a day at the racing.

"We've also had a couple of tennis tournaments in which the Czech players were, as you can imagine, incredibly good, unlike us Scots!

"There's always good banter and rivalry so it's been extremely good for the team spirit.

"It was the gaffer's idea and not only is he a keen player, he is also very good.

"But the main man, Neil MacFarlane, has yet to play. He is Hearts' Andy Murray!

"He was the Dunoon tennis champion for 10 out of 11 years and the only year he didn't win it was when he had a cruciate knee ligament injury.

"My partner was Jamie McAllister and he let us down. It was not a matter of who we lost to but who didn't we lose to!

"We just played for fun and pride but my confidence has taken a battering, let me tell you."

Hearts complete the first quarter of their league campaign with a home game to struggling Dunfermline and Pressley is hoping to extend their unbeaten SPL run to 11 games.

He said: "It would be a fantastic achievement. As I've said before, the start to the season has been beyond everyone's wildest dreams.

"We were struggling to have a squad together two weeks prior to kick-off and so to start the season in the manner that we have is tremendous.

"The good thing about winning is that it breeds confidence and you can't wait on the next match to come along and I think that's the general feeling in the dressing room at this moment in time."

Taken from sportinglife.com