Hartley insists that the title is not turning into a two-horse race

STUART BATHGATE

PAUL Hartley, who returns to the Hearts side this afternoon after missing Wednesday's win over Kilmarnock, argued yesterday that Hibs and Rangers could yet emerge as realistic title contenders.

Contradicting the assertion of his chairman, George Foulkes, that the SPL had become a contest between Hearts and Celtic, the Scotland midfielder insisted a quartet of clubs remained in contention.

"We've played 12 games and everybody's writing Rangers off," said Hartley, who trained yesterday without suffering any reaction to the hamstring injury which ruled him out in midweek.

"They're writing Hibs off too and I can't see that. Anybody who says Rangers are out of the title is kidding themselves. There are four teams in it - it's not a two-horse race. Hibs are a fantastic young team. They have a really good manager there and they have gone on a fantastic run since we last played them."

Defeat at Easter Road today would provide more evidence for Hartley's contention, albeit of an unwelcome variety to him.

Hibs will close to within four points of their city rivals if they emerge victorious, as many pundits are predicting they will, but Hartley appears confident that the league leaders can confound such predictions and stretch their unbeaten run in the SPL to 13 matches in the process.

We're really looking forward to it," he added. "It will be a really tough game, but hopefully we can go in and have a fantastic result tomorrow."

Hartley unveiled a T-shirt bearing the legend 'For The Gaffer' when he left the field against Dunfermline last Saturday, just hours after the departure of George Burley had been announced.

Rudi Skacel did the same at the end of the match, but Hartley insisted both players wished only to pay respect to the outgoing manager rather than protest against majority shareholder, Vladimir Romanov.

"I had the utmost respect for George Burley," he explained. "He was one of the main reasons I signed a new contract to stay here - him and Mr Romanov.

"I get on very well with Mr Romanov. I spoke to him on Wednesday and there's not been any problems. The T-shirt was a mark of respect for the manager, nothing to do with the owner of the club. I'm happy here and I'm sure the other guys are too. People speculated that because George Burley left others would follow, but that's not the case."

Understandably, Hartley has taken a keen interest in the search for a new manager to replace Burley, and believes that the calibre of candidate proves how much the club has moved on.

From choosing managers who had served their apprenticeship in places such as Cowdenbeath and Inverness, Hearts are now looking at men who have taken charge of clubs such as Chelsea and Barcelona.

"It just shows you how far the club has come on, and how far Mr Romanov has worked to get us to the top. It came as a real shock when we lost the manager, and hopefully we'll get a new one in a bit quicker this time than last time.

"The last year has been unbelievable. The club was talking about going into administration and moving out of Tynecastle and going to Murrayfield before Mr Romanov arrived. He has put spent money bringing quality players in on good salaries.

"He wants to make Hearts one of the top clubs and I'm sure that we're progressing towards that. And to be linked with [Claudio] Ranieri and [Sir Bobby] Robson is really good.

"I don't think that Hearts would have been linked with two of the biggest managers in Europe a year ago. We can see that the owner is trying to build something big and we want to be a part of it. The players want to do well for ourselves."

John McGlynn, the interim manager, also welcomed the potential arrival of men of the quality of Robson and Ranieri.

"I hope that the club can get a bit more stability soon, because there has been uncertainty in the last few months," he said.

"Whether it's Claudio Ranieri or Bobby Robson, they both have great experience and a vast knowledge of the game. I'm still learning in the game, so I could only learn from them."

• This afternoon's match at Easter Road may be a complete sell-out, but Hibs fans living in Australia will still be able to keep a close eye on proceedings.

The Edinburgh derby is not being shown on television in Scotland - Celtic's trip to face Dundee United at Tannadice will be broadcast by Setanta on Sunday afternoon instead - but it will be screened live on the other side of the world.

The Australia branch of the Hibs Supporters Club have reached an agreement with Setanta and, along with pubs in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, will show the match in the early hours of Sunday morning local time.

Taken from the Scotsman