Pospisil on high after Hampden victory

MICHAL POSPISIL was crowned a European Champion with the Czech Republic but insists that winning the Scottish Cup with Hearts was right up there alongside it as a career high.

The striker was part of the Czech side which won the European Championships at Under-21 level in 2002 and has singled that experience out as the best of his footballing life.

Pospisil masterminded one of the ultimate highs when he scored the golden goal which took the Czechs into the final against France four years ago, a match they went on to win 3-1 on penalties after the regulation 90 minutes and extra-time period had ended in a 0-0 draw.

However, having helped claim Hearts' first piece of silverware in eight years last weekend and paraded it around Edinburgh in front of around 200,000 supporters, Pospisil admits it comes very close to matching those celebrations.

He said: "I won a gold medal at Under-21 level in the European Championships with the Czech Republic and I also won a league title and cup over there.

"But this cup is also very special for me and for the club's supporters so Saturday was also one of the best days of my career."

The Czech striker is well used to pressure situations, having also taken a penalty in that famous Czech victory in 2002, and was one of the first to volunteer his services for the Jambos when Saturday's cup final also came down to a spot-kick decider.

He admits to having a few butterflies before the shoot-out but, if there seemed to be an air of confidence about his gait as he walked from the centre circle at Hampden and into the box, it is because he had been through it all before.

"I was a little nervous because I knew it was very important," he admitted, "but it was 3-2 at that stage and I knew that if I scored it would really make it easier for us. I was quite confident because I had actually scored from the penalty spot in the European Championship final against France and I knew that I wanted this cup too much to miss!

"I was relieved to see it hit the back of the net, all of the pressure was gone and I was delighted just to score.

"Then their player missed and all of a sudden the celebrations started, it was a wonderful feeling."

Pospisil believes that a combination of pressure and fatigue after a long and draining season contributed to the fact that the Tynecastle side were taken right to the wire by Rowan Alexander's minnows.

Ever the most ardent Hearts supporter will have found it impossible not have some sympathy with the Raydale Park side, many of the gallant losers coming to the end of their careers and knowing that it was probably their last chance to play in a final at Hampden.

Pospisil was certainly impressed by the effort they put in and by the players' fitness levels. He added: "It was a very difficult game for Hearts, I think we were expected to win the Cup, we were big favourites and that was a big pressure on us. Gretna played very well, we missed some chances and as time went by everyone seemed to get more nervous and that caused us problems.

"It wasn't the best performance, it was the last game of a long season and I think everyone was really tired.

"Everyone was saying that it was going to be easy for us to win but we knew that they would make it very difficult for us.

"We have played much better this season but the important thing was that the whole team still believed, we wanted to win this cup so much."

With a cup win under their belts just a season - or in some cases five months - after the team was assembled by Vladimir Romanov, Pospisil feels that Hearts can build on their success next season.

There are likely to be some new faces at Tynecastle over the summer and with Rudi Skacel and Andy Webster both on their way out, it will be a very different Hearts side which takes up the mantle next season.

But Pospisil believes they can add to their collections in seasons to come, adding: "I think that it can help give us more confidence for next season.

"When I came here everyone said that second position and the Cup would be a fantastic achievement and we have done both.

"We have proved that we are a strong team, we have been successful in two competitions and hopefully we can improve on that again next season." Pospisil signed for the Tynecastle side at the beginning of the season from Slovan Liberec, after also spending two seasons with Sparta Prague and admits that it has taken him some time to adjust to playing a different style of football.

However, now that he has his wife Gabriella and young son, David, living in Edinburgh with him he feels more at home every day and is hoping to get a chance to show how much he has improved during his time at Tynecastle.

He conceded: "It has taken time to get used to playing another style of football but I think that after playing here for a season I am now used to it and feel that I have settled in well to Edinburgh now.

"I think that the game in Scotland is much more physical, in the Czech Republic we concentrate more on playing tactically and more technically.

"I must get used to these hard tackles and it can also help me because before I did not know how to deal with that. It can improve me as a player I think.

"Also I can still use the other side of my game, my skill, to my advantage against defenders. But in Scotland it is also good, there is a good tempo to every match that you play and the supporters help to do that, they really get involved.

"I think that the Scottish league is a good competition, especially the supporters, they are in a different class when you compare them with other countries and the Czech Republic.

"The Czech League is of a similar standard but now in Scotland there are better players. Celtic, Hearts and Rangers have strong teams and in the Czech Republic you really only have Sparta and Slavia who can win the title.

"It is very difficult because both have very different styles. Hopefully we will find out how good they are if we draw a team from the Czech Republic in Europe next season!"

Taken from the Scotsman