Neilson keen to Kil off Cup tie

HEARTS star Robbie Neilson insisted today his side must make the most of home comforts and book their place in the next round of the Tennent's Scottish Cup at the first time of asking.

The Jambos face Kilmarnock at Tynecastle on Saturday in a re-run of the clash between the teams in the fourth round of the same competition last term. Last February the Ayrshire side took the game back to Rugby Park as they earned a 2-2 draw in the Capital courtesy of a last-gasp Steven Naismith strike.

The Gorgie outfit did finally progress in the tournament thanks to an impressive 3-1 win in the replay - albeit they did things the hard way.

But, with Graham Rix's men still clinging to the hope they can challenge for the SPL title and Killie in fine form at the moment, Neilson is keen to avoid a repeat.

"When we played them last season they took us to a replay and, although both teams have changed a fair bit, that's an indication it will be a tough match," said the Scotland Future cap.

"Rugby Park is one of the most difficult grounds to go to so we certainly don't want to take the game back there if we can avoid it. We have been given home advantage and it's important that we make the most of that.

"If we can start well and score first, then we can progress to the next round.

"Some people have been talking about the draw not being that kind but we have a home tie, which is all you can ask for.

"Sometimes, when you play a team from a lower division, you may not prepare for the match as thoroughly as you should but, with Killie, there is no chance of that as they are a good team."

The Jambos have already been knocked out of one cup competition this term when a surprise 1-0 defeat to Livingston last September ended their involvement in the CIS Cup.

Although former boss George Burley chose to field a reserve team in that clash there was still a real sense of disappointment around Gorgie that a chance to end a seven-year wait for silverware had been passed up.

And Neilson admitted that defeat is likely to be in the players' minds, spurring them on, by the time Saturday comes round.

He said: "We're already out of the CIS Cup which is disappointing and it probably makes this game at the weekend all the more important. The Scottish cup is very important to us as first and foremost it's an opportunity to try and win a trophy. At the end of the day that's why you play football to try and win trophies for both the fans and the players and, in this country, you don't get bigger than the Scottish Cup.

"A club the size of Hearts needs to be getting to the latter stages of cup competitions and to be involved in finals and that's something we haven't really done in recent years.

"We want to try to make up for that by going as far as we can in the competition and we want to get through to the next round as soon as possible."

Hearts fans could be forgiven for letting out a collective groan when the draw for the third round was made last month as they were paired with a fellow SPL side rather than one of the lesser lights they were probably hoping for.

However, a look at past meetings between the teams may have lightened their mood as you have to go back to May 2003 for the last time Jim Jefferies' side came out on top in a meeting between the teams. A solitary strike from ex-Jambo Gary McSwegan proved the difference between the teams in a match in which ref Dougie McDonald incurred the wrath of then boss Craig Levein by ordering off both Austin McCann and Andy Webster.

Eleven games have passed since then with Hearts well in control, although Neilson insisted past form will count for nothing when the whistle blows to start the game at 3pm on Saturday.

"We played them a lot last season and did really well while we have also beaten then twice so far this season," said Neilson.

"It's been a while since they beat us but you get these things in football from time to time.

"That won't come into the Hearts players' thinking and whether Kilmarnock will be thinking about it or not I don't know. But it's pleasing to have such a good record against them because they are always one of the teams that seem to finish in the top half of the table."

Neilson and his team-mates go into the match on the back of a cruel 3-2 defeat by Celtic, a result which saw them slip seven points behind the SPL leaders.

The nature of the loss, two late strikes for the visitors giving them an unlikely, and probably undeserved win, was a hard one to take for Hearts players who had blown the Glasgow giants away in the opening 45 minutes with some scintillating football. In the end though they were left with nothing to show for their efforts as referee Ian Brines' decision to send-off Takis Fyssas proved the turning point.

But while Neilson concedes that morale in the camp was at an all-time low immediately after the match he believes he and his team-mates have the character to bounce back with a Scottish Cup clash the ideal match to go into.

"It was a hard one to take because we played so well in the game but unfortunately in football you don't always get what you deserve," said the defender.

"We have to try and take the positives out of the game so we can move forward though and while that's not easy we will be working on that in training this week.

"The manager has spoken to us and told us that we did play well for long periods of the game and if we can keep playing like that, particularly in the first half when I thought we played exceptionally well, then we will win a lot more than we lose.

"It's probably not a bad thing to being going into a cup game like this as certainly all the Scottish lads at the club know exactly how important the Scottish Cup is. The other guys may not know yet but by the time the game kicks-off I'm sure they will be well aware of how important it is that we do well."

Taken from the Scotsman