We must up our game to stay in touch with Old Firm - McGlynn

HEARTS assistant coach John McGlynn has warned his side they'll face a tough task to compete with the Old Firm next season now they are no longer Scottish football's surprise package.

Prior to the start of the last campaign, the Jambos were being tipped to struggle to make it into the top six but, with the financial banking of Lithuanian banker Vladimir Romanov, they took the league by storm, winning eight of their first ten matches and drawing the other two.

Summer signings Roman Bednar, Edgaras Jankauskas, Takis Fyssas and Rudi Skacel were unknown quantities when they arrived in Gorgie with few of the Tynecastle outfit's opponents knowing what to expect from the blend of foreign imports and home grown stars.

This uncertainty certainly gave the Capital club a huge advantage and Romanov has since confessed that he had been hoping to take the Old Firm by surprise and end their domination of the domestic game. And, while his plan worked until early into the New Year, his side began to fade thereafter - eventually having to settle for second spot and a potentially-lucrative berth in the Champions League qualifiers next term.

The Tennent's Scottish Cup was also brought back to Edinburgh after victory over Gretna on penalties in the final but those triumphs have raised expectation levels not only among the club's own supporters but also among football fans up and down the country.

With Romanov publicly stating he wants to wrest the SPL championship from Celtic during the coming campaign, all eyes will be on Tynecastle to see how events unfold.

And McGlynn has told his stars they'll have to perform even better if they are to have any chance of achieving these goals.

"Prior to last season, I don't think we were given much of a chance by people because firstly we didn't have an awful lot of players to start with and then when we did bring in guys we didn't have a lot of time with them," said McGlynn. "When we got new faces into the club it was only then that the staff at Tynecastle could see the quality that we had managed to attract initially and the players were very much an unknown quantity to everyone else.

"Things materialised quickly and the guys clicked on the pitch and made it very difficult for the teams we played against.

"Now, however, people know what these guys are all about and it will definitely be harder for them to have the same kind of impact. They'll have to try and raise their game an extra level which might be difficult."

But McGlynn is hoping that with Romanov's continues investment the club will be able to bring in a few new "quality additions" that will again have opponents guessing about just exactly how the Jambos will perform.

"We brought in a lot of new players in January and I think now the key is to get three, maybe four, quality additions," he said.

"If we can do that then they may surprise people which would be a plus. Even if they are guys that teams know about, though, quality is hard to stop even if you know what they are capable of."

But, while McGlynn is warning his players of the need to raise their game even further next term, one of Tynecastle rising stars believes his side are just a couple of signings away from becoming genuine title contenders.

Christophe Berra, who has been capped at Scotland Future Squad level, was in and around the fringes of the first team last season often deputising for the likes of Steven Pressley, Andy Webster and Jose Goncalves when called upon.

And, after seeing his side enjoy one of their most successful campaigns in recent years, the 21-year-old defender senses they aren't too far away from pushing the Old Firm all the way in the race for the SPL championship.

Speaking to Hearts World, Berra said: "If we get the right players in we could easily challenge Celtic for first place I think.

"Rangers have a new manager as well and will be really strong but so will we."

The form of inspirational captain Pressley and the displays of firstly Scotland internationalist Webster and then Senegal star Ibrahim Tall meant that Berra's outings in a maroon jersey were restricted last season.

Whenever the youngster was called upon, however, he coped admirably as part of a Hearts rearguard that was the most miserly in the SPL.

And, with the future of Webster still shrouded in doubt as he refuses to sign a contract extension, Berra, pictured below, is hoping to be given more of a run-out in the coming season particularly with the squad likely to be stretched more with the addition of European football in Gorgie.

"I just want to play more regularly and challenge myself," he said.

"I played the last four or five games and thought I did really, really well and can't do much more. Some of the coaches have said I haven't done myself any harm and that my last few games were probably my best for the club."

Taken from the Scotsman