Hartley: team can follow champions

HEARTS' devastating first-half display against Dunfermline was more than enough to convince Paul Hartley that a place in the Champions League qualifiers is well within the club's grasp.

The Tynecastle side left their visitors from Fife chasing shadows as they raced into a commanding 3-0 lead before the half-time whistle had even sounded as they produced a performance to more than match those at the height of George Burley's tenure.

Hartley knows though that Hearts will have to maintain that level of performance in the final five games if they are to hold off the challenge from Rangers until the end of the season and secure second spot.

Just three points separate the two sides going into the post-split fixtures and the scene is set for a memorable Champions League decider against Rangers at Ibrox on the final day of the season.

If results over the next few weeks take the Euro race to the wire it will be a nail-biting climax in Govan but Hartley believes his side are more than capable of handling the pressure-cooker situation to book their place in Europe's premier competition.

He said: "We blitzed Dunfermline in the first half an hour and I think the game was really over with at half-time. It's always nice to get a few goals and keep the goal difference healthy, but it was just a fantastic performance. Over the last three games we have played really well.

"Even last Wednesday we played some good stuff at Celtic Park and were a bit unlucky, but that just shows how good a team we can be. You can see that the players are working hard together and gelling well because we know there is a big prize at the end of it. We have to be on top of our game for the next five games now. We're still three points clear of Rangers but the next five games are all pressure games.

"They're all massive occasions for everyone here - the club, the supporters, the owner, so we are going to make the push. If we play every week like we did on Saturday then we won't be far away.

"Rangers are a good side, but we are very difficult to beat at Tynecastle. On our day, we're as good as anybody. With the pace and energy we have in the team, we will score goals and that's vital."

Scoring goals certainly hasn't proved to be too much of a problem for Hearts this season, the Tynecastle club's four-goal haul on Saturday means they are currently 12 goals better off than the Ibrox men, a factor which could prove crucial come May 7.

And Hartley believes that interim head coach Valdas Ivanauskas must take some of the credit for the Tynecastle side's return to form which has seen them score eight in their last three matches - including that 4-0 win over Hibs in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

Ivanauskas may only have been in charge a matter of weeks but, having been a familiar face around Tynecastle and Riccarton for the past few months, has slipped effortlessly into his new role.

And Hartley added: "Since he's come in he hasn't changed that much. He gets his point across very well, and it's not as if he's just new to the club because he's been here for quite a number of months now. We understand him and he is a very good coach.

"He is able to get his message across. It's quite brief but we know what he's saying. Everyone knows what they have to do and he is very organised. Everything is put across well."

Hearts took only seven minutes to open the scoring against Jim Leishman's strugglers at Tynecastle, Michal Pospisil left with a simple tap-in after a cross from Robbie Neilson.

Roman Bednar doubled the Tynecastle side's advantage and Saulius Mikoliunas more or less ended the match as a contest with their third before the break. Their only goal in the second 45 came from Juho Makela, the Finnish youngster's first for the club, and Hartley was delighted to see him on the scoresheet.

Since signing from Helsinki in January the 23-year-old Makela has made just two appearances from the substitutes' bench - he was also introduced to play against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup in February - but has been performing well in the reserves.

Hartley is hoping his goal against Dunfermline means Makela will be given a chance to showcase his talents on the big stage of the SPL and he continued: "I'm pleased for him because he hasn't been involved that much. He's been stuck in the reserves, and he got a goal for them on Tuesday night when I went to watch them.

"That gave him a little bit of confidence but scoring at the weekend will have been a great lift for him. The players who are coming in are doing very well, and it's great to see everybody chipping in.

"Valdas has a really difficult job because we have that many players in the squad, but those who are playing are giving their best. As I said, the last three performances have been fantastic so it must be hard for him."

Hartley himself, of course, has been in the form of his life of late, his semi-final hat-trick without doubt one of the highlights of a season to remember for the former Hibs and St Johnstone player, and possibly of his career.

The Tynecastle midfielder is hoping his form can continue in the same vein over the next few weeks so that he can help ensure Hearts finish the season with something tangible to show for their efforts. The Gorgie outfit could end May with the Scottish Cup in their trophy cabinet and a place in the Champions League qualifiers to look forward to and Hartley for one is relishing the challenge which faces them over the remaining six games: "Everything is just falling into place for me and it's going really well. I'm enjoying my football, not just recently but since the start of the season. Every game I've played in has been a big-pressure game and I just want to continue my form. Everything is there for us and I just hope we can get it. It is in our own hands.

"We have Kilmarnock next week and then we go to Easter Road but as long as we keep winning games and grinding out results then the big one will be the last day at Ibrox. That will be a fantastic occasion. Hopefully we can go into that game with our fate in our own hands, but there will probably be a few more twists and turns before then. That's the sort of game you play football for, they don't come any bigger and we are all relishing these last five matches."

Taken from the Scotsman