I'LL KO MY PAL SIONKO

CZECH star Michal Pospisil would be delighted to see former team-mate Libor Sionko at Rangers - as long as they keep playing second fiddle to Hearts.

The Jambos striker was jetting out of Scotland yesterday, just as countryman Sionko was flying in to finalise a three-year deal with the Ibrox club.

Pospisil is off on his holidays after helping Hearts to the Champions League qualifiers and Scottish Cup success in his first season in the SPL.

Austria Vienna playmaker Sionko, 29, is set to become the first high-profile arrival of the Paul Le Guen era as the Frenchman bids to return the Light Blues to pole position in the Scottish game.

Pospisil, 27, teamed up with Sionko at Sparta Prague two years ago when they won the Czech title but has been out of contact since his former team-mate moved to Austria.

He is looking forward to a reunion next season after Sionko admitted the success of players such as Pospisil, Roman Bednar and Rudi Skacel at Tynecastle showed he could also be a smash-hit in the SPL.

Pospisil said: "I played alongside Libor for a year at Sparta and he's a very good player.

"He's out of contract and if Rangers can sign him on a free transfer from Austria Vienna it's a great piece of business.

"Libor is excellent on the right-hand side of midfield where he is quick, has good dribbling skills and can also deliver a dangerous cross to strikers.

"He is probably most comparable with players in the SPL such as Saulius Mikoliunas at Hearts or even Chris Burke at Ibrox.

"But he has more experience than these guys and can also be used through the centre as a striker, though he's much more comfortable in the middle of the park. He is capable of scoring goals but is not the type of player who will find the net 15 times in a season.

"However, he is very good in offensive positions and creates many opportunities for others to find the net.

"I best remember Libor for the season we played together at Sparta Prague and won the championship. He created many opportunities for the team that season and I benefited from his work on several occasions as I scored seven times.

"He was a very popular player in the team and throughout the Czech League and has a good standing at international level.

"He's also an excellent professional, someone who works for the team and who is committed to preparing as well as possible for matches."

Sionko belongs to the same agency stable as Pospisil, Bednar and Skacel and, as Record Sport revealed last month, he reckons he could do for Rangers what Lubo Moravcik achieved at Celtic.

He has also looked on with interest as Hearts have upset the balance of power this season and laid down a serious title challenge for the first time in two decades.

Pospisil, who also had a spell with Slovan Liberec, is happy to have been a trailblazer for his countryman but has warned him the Jambos squad are ready for the challenge of a fresh title assault next season.

He added: "I read about Libor suggesting the success of the Czech players at Hearts this season was one of the reasons that led him to consider a move to Rangers.

"It's nice to help him and I'd be delighted to see him in Scottish football next season. But, of course, I'll only be delighted if his team finishes behind mine in the title race.

"I think everyone at Hearts expects next season to be even tougher again. We were a surprise package this season and we know Rangers and Celtic will be much more ready for us next time around.

"Rangers, for sure, will bring in more new faces under Paul Le Guen and that is going to make the SPL even more interesting. However, I think it is a good thing we now have three clubs challenging for the title rather than the two traditional teams."

Sionko left for Scotland on a flight from Vienna yesterday morning just a couple of hours after Czech coach Karel Bruckner named his squad for the World Cup.

Sionko has been capped 17 times but the previous time he appeared at international level was last summer and he was always recognised as a long shot to make the squad for Germany.

However, Bruckner has put Sionko and Skacel at the top of his reserve list and the Rangers target may yet be spending much of his summer at the greatest show on earth.

Ex-Liverpool midfielder Vladimir Smicer, now at Bordeaux, has been out of action for several weeks with a knee injury and may be forced to pull out.

Pospisil, who scored eight goals from 15 starts for Hearts this season, will have to settle for watching the World Cup action on television.

And he is also determined to prove himself worthy of a first-team place more regularly in the next campaign after admitting he was disappointed with his contribution.

He said: "I want to show from the beginning of the season that I'm good enough to play in Hearts' starting 11."

Taken from the Daily Record