Skacel signs deal at Tynecastle as history beckons

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The Czech Republic midfield player turned his season-long loan from Marseilles into a permanent transfer after Hearts agreed an undisclosed fee with the French club. Skacel, who is Hearts’ top scorer, enjoys iconic status with the Tynecastle crowd and that will be underlined when he walks out against Aberdeen with second place in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague there for the taking.

The 26-year-old had been linked with a move to several English clubs but will now stay at Hearts for the next two seasons. “The club has an agreement in place with Rudi Skacel, which was signed last summer,” Hearts stated on their website. “Hearts and Marseilles agreed terms before Rudi joined, which has resulted in the club exercising their right to retain him for a further two years.”

The euphoria that has coursed through Hearts since defeating Celtic 3-0 on Sunday will ensure that Aberdeen face similar stern scrutiny in front of a partisan 17,000 audience. Skacel feels his adopted home is the right place for any celebrations that happen tonight.

“Our fans deserved that victory on Sunday, and it was extremely important for us because we are now very close to the Champions League,” Skacel said. “I hope we can take second place for our supporters now. It’s crucial to win the next game because you never know what’s going to happen in the last game.

“Going to play Rangers in front of a full stadium is awkward and it will be a hostile atmosphere if we are playing for a Champions League place. It’s effectively a one-off game and that will make it more difficult and unpredictable, so it is better to take it against Aberdeen and avoid the tension.

“We have a big chance to do that. We are at home, Aberdeen aren’t going to make it easy but I hope we can take this chance. For our supporters it would be perfect, they could celebrate second place at Tynecastle and then go to Ibrox for a party.”

Valdas Ivanauskas, the caretaker head coach, has a doubt on on the fitness of Ibrahim Tall, the central defender. “He didn’t train on Monday but we are hoping he will train later,” Ivanauskas said yesterday.

“Steven Pressley is in a similar situation with his back and again we need to wait and see how he is nearer to the game.”

Hearts also have a minor concern over their influential goalkeeper, Craig Gordon, who suffered a slight muscle injury against Celtic. “I think Craig is fine and we are not worrying too much about him but we want him to be 100 per cent,” Ivanauskas added.

“The players are in good mood after Sunday but we know how big the game is. The performance was very good on Sunday and the players enjoyed the day. I enjoyed it myself but we must look forward to Aberdeen now.”

Celtic will face Kilmarnock at home eager to atone for their poor display at Tynecastle. The champions won 4-1 when the clubs met at Rugby Park last month after Celtic had clinched the title and Billy Brown, the Kilmarnock assistant, claimed Gordon Strachan’s team had been lucky.

“The funny thing is, with every team we have beaten, everybody says we were lucky,” Strachan responded. “When we get beat, we pick up our bags and go again. Sometimes, in defeat and in victory, you have to know how to handle it. We think we can handle both and have shown that.

“Against Artmedia Bratislava [in the Champions League] and Clyde [in the Tennent’s Scottish Cup], there were no excuses from us. We took everything that was thrown at us but showed we can get beaten with grace and win with grace. That is part of the club and we will continue to do that. We could use some of the excuses clubs have used against is, but we are bigger and better than that.”

Taken from timesonline.co.uk