Show us the Money

Hearts
By Alan Campbell

ONE man has little doubt about who will win today’s televised Premierleague encounter at Tynecastle. Hearts captain Steven Pressley, who hopes to be passed fit after missing the last two games with a viral infection, believes home advantage will help increase his side’s lead over Rangers to nine points.

“I don’t think it’s a make-or-break game, but it’s one I’m pretty certain we will win,” said the former Ibrox player. “When I look at the quality we’ve got in the squad, and the fact we are playing at home, in my mind there is no doubt that we will win.

“That would go a considerable way to securing second place. If we are sitting nine points ahead it will be good daylight between ourselves and Rangers with only eight games remaining. That would be a significant gap.

“Whenever we play at Tynecastle we believe we will win the game, regardless of the opposition, and this match will be no different.”

The last time the sides met at today’s venue, the result matched Pressley’s upbeat assessment. Roman Bednar’s headed goal gave Hearts their eighth successive win of the season.

Yet, when the sides met at Ibrox three months later, Hearts were lucky to escape Glasgow on the wrong end of the same 1-0 scoreline. They were a pale reflection of the side that started the season with so much swagger under George Burley – and although their performance hasn’t sunk to that level again it confirmed the view that there are worlds between Hearts’ results on the road, and those at home.

Pressley’s side have played the Old Firm four times this season, winning one, drawing one, and losing two. Today’s match gives them the oppor tunity to level the series.

“The whole club’s ethos towards facing the Old Firm has changed,” said the captain. “When you look at the players in our squad we should fear nobody. That belief has transmitted to the fans as well – that’s why we have 17,500 coming to the games every weekend.

“The one thing that disappoints me is the gap we have allowed Celtic to create ahead of us, because I do genuinely think we have the capabilities to win the league. “In the future we have to show we have learned the know-how to sustain a challenge over 38 games because we certainly have the players.

“It has been refreshing for Scottish football this season. Hibs and Kilmarnock have also done well, and teams are finally believing the Old Firm are not invincible. Hopefully in future the league can get more competitive. The most important aspect of any team is their mindset; the difference between top players and the rest is their strength of mind – they believe they will win these big matches. And why shouldn’t we when the game is at Tynecastle?

“The success of any side is built on the foundations they lay at home. When you look at the Old Firm, for many years they dropped very few points on their own patches. The reputation at Tynecastle over the past two or three years is that it’s a hard place to come to.

“We will go into this game believing we will win, and I think if we do that we should have no fears.

“If you were to look at our position in July and see how far we’ve come with the amount of changes in personnel on the pitch and in the management team, for us to stay focused and give ourselves a real opportunity of getting Champions League football is credit to all the players.”

Although his condition continues to be monitored, Pressley is almost certain to return to the defence today alongside Andy Webster against Rangers. Earlier efforts to play through his illness, though, only set him back further.

“For a week I was feeling unwell and after playing I had fatigue, lack of strength and power, almost a loss of morale,” he reported. “It just floors you in that respect.

“Several times I tried to come back and train but felt the effects of it again, so the only cure was rest. It wasn’t a worrying time because the doctor reassured me that if you persist in training on an illness then you can be affected by post-viral. All my blood tests were fine so it was just a case of rest.”

Hearts boss Graham Rix, who looked shell-shocked after watching his side’s dismal performance at Ibrox, said his players needed to erase the memory.

“We really under-performed that day,” he said. “We owe it to ourselves to show the Rangers players and our fans what we are capable of doing.”

Taken from the Sunday Herald