TOUGH-TACKLING Julien Brellier will return from suspension for Hearts against Rangers at Ibrox tomorrow - and insisted he won't be changing the aggressive style which has seen him fall foul of officialdom this season.

The Frenchman missed the disappointing weekend draw at home to Inverness Caley Thistle having been hit with a one-match ban after picking up his sixth booking of the season against Aberdeen at Pittodrie last month.

Brought to the club by former boss George Burley on a two-year deal, the former Inter Milan ace has excelled as the holding midfielder in front of the back four - providing a formidable shield for the defence marshalled by skipper Steven Pressley.

The 23-year-old's absence was keenly felt on Saturday as Hearts lost their proud 100 per cent home record this season.

Paul Hartley was asked to drop back and play a more withdrawn role but the move failed to have the desired effect, with the visitors dominating proceedings. Taking advantage of his enforced absence last weekend, Brellier headed home to France to spend time with his family but is now back, refreshed and relishing the prospect of challenging anyone who crosses his path in Govan.

"Because I was suspended the boss allowed me to go back to France to spend the weekend with my family. I kept in touch with what was happening at Tynecastle and, while I was disappointed to find out we had drawn the game, it has to be remembered that Inverness are a very good team when they play away from home.

"Now we have to play Rangers and I'm really looking forward to the match.

"It was disappointing to miss the game on Saturday and I hope not to pick up many more bookings. But this is the style of my game and how I enjoy playing it.

"I like to be aggressive out on the football pitch. I like to work hard for the team and put in tackles and I can't change that."

Not that his manager is keen for him to alter the style which has won over the Gorgie faithful this season.

Brellier is likely to be one of the first names head coach Graham Rix, pictured below right, puts down on his team sheet for the weekend and his combative style will be crucial as Hearts attempt to frustrate a much more confident home side which registered its first win in 11 games with victory over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Sunday.

"You don't want your players getting booked but football is a physical game," said Rix.

"Julien does enough running and enough tackling for two players so he is always going to put himself in those situations.

"While I don't want him booked for silly things, I'm not going to try to change his style. If he is competing, which is his natural style, I am not going to take that away from him at all."

With Brellier back in the team, Rix will move Hartley into a more advanced role in Govan as the Jambos seek to repeat their September win over the Light Blues. The Frenchman insists the Jambos should march into Ibrox confident that such a result is possible despite the current resurgence being enjoyed by Alex McLeish's side - and he points to the current SPL standings as evidence of his belief.

Rix takes his men along the M8 with a 14-point advantage of their hosts and Brellier, who was at Ibrox to see Rangers draw with Inter Milan to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League, said: "We have already beaten them this season and I'm confident we can do so again.

"They are a good side but so are we and you just have to look at the league table to see how much better we are doing this season.

"Rangers will be more confident than recently after their success in the Champions League and then their win over Kilmarnock at the weekend. I was at the European match and, while it wasn't a great game, it turned out to be a very important result for Rangers.

"It is going to be a tough match but I think we can get a result to keep the pressure on at the top of the table."

Czech striker Roman Bednar struck the only goal of the game when the teams met in the Capital earlier this season and another high-tempo performance is what the Jambos require tomorrow, according to midfielder Brellier who has already helped his side to a precious point against the other half of the Old Firm in Glasgow.

"If we play against them in the same manner as we did when we won in September, I think we can get the points again," he said.

"But if we are not at our best then it is going to be difficult for us. We played well against Celtic at Parkhead earlier this season so going to Glasgow tomorrow should hold no fears for us. And, when you play either Celtic or Rangers, motivation is never a problem so we're all looking forward to the match."

With three draws from his opening four matches in charge of Hearts, pressure is growing on Rix to improve the level of performances from his players.

Tomorrow's clash should prove to be the most severe test yet of his brief reign and the players are desperate to get a good result for their gaffer.

"The manager is working very hard for us and we're working hard for him," added Brellier.

"We want to get results for him. He needs some time as this is all new for him and us but we understand what he wants.

"I think tomorrow's game is a good one for us after what happened last weekend against Inverness.

"As the league table shows, at this moment we are better than Rangers and we have to show that at Ibrox."

Brellier took little time to settle into life in the SPL having been convinced by Burley that his future lay at Tynecastle and he admitted to being pleasantly surprised at the standard of the game in this country. "Scottish football is good and the standard is better than I thought it would be," he said. "In France, Italy and Spain some of the best football in Europe is played but I have to say I have been surprised at the quality here. It's a great championship this season and that's good for us. When I was in Italy we spoke about English football but not so much about Scotland.

"We would hear about Celtic and Rangers but that would be about all. Now there's much more interest."

Taken from the Scotsman