FEAR WE GO

ROMAN BEDNAR reckons the thought of blowing their Champions League dream is spurring everyone on at Hearts during pre-season.

While the Czech striker doesn't go around head-butting walls - he hates losing and he is desperate to see the Jambos carry on from where they left off last season.

A runners-up spot in the SPL and success in the Scottish Cup ensures expectation levels are higher than ever at Tynecastle but Bednar insists he and his mates can cope.

He said: "I hate losing and I am a very bad person if I lose. But I'm sure everybody hates losing. Whoever likes losing is crazy.

"We are under pressure this season to be successful and the Champions League just adds to that but we were under enormous strain last season to qualify for the Champions League.

"These players can cope with the pressure the same way they did last season.

"Maybe Hearts perform better under pressure - I don't know, we'll have to wait and see.

"But one thing I do know is we are all desperate to win the Champions League qualifiers."

Hearts continued their build-up towards those important fixtures with an impressive performance against English Championship side Preston at Deepdale.

Bednar opened the scoring after 14 minutes when he latched onto countryman Michal Pospisil's fine pass and slotted home.

Three minutes later it was 2-0 courtesy of Saulius Mikoliunas who took advantage of slack defending to blast high into the net from six yards.

The healthy visiting support sang 'The Hearts are having a party' at that point as their heroes threatened to run riot but Simon Whaley pulled one back for the hosts after 32 minutes - despite appearing to handle the ball as he blocked Takis Fyssas' clearance before beating Steve Banks.

Bednar found the net again after the break but his effort was rightfully ruled offside and substitute keeper Carlo Nash produced a wonder save to deny Ibrahim Tall.

Next up for Hearts are Spanish cracks Osasuna at Murrayfield on Wednesday and then their European bid kicks off against either Shakhtyor Soligorsk of Belarus or Bosnian champions Siroki Brijeg at the same stadium next Wednesday.

Bednar is confident the Jambos are hitting form at at the right time and also enjoyed lining up alongside Pospisil after hamstring injuries prevented Edgaras Jankauskas and Deividas Cesnauskis from making the starting line-up at Preston.

Bednar said: "We were a little flat in the second half but we've stepped up our performance levels compared to the pre-season games in Austria.

"There was a quicker tempo to this match and it was good to play up front again with Michal Pospisil.

"We both speak Czech and English so we help each other out and we are trying to develop an understanding both on and off the park."

Bednar is desperate to make up for lost time after missing most of last season through injury.

His one bright spot came early in the campaign when he netted the only goal of the game against Rangers at Tynecastle last September and Bednar hopes more crucial goals and better times are round the corner for him and Hearts.

He certainly has an unflinching belief in his ability to produce the goods and become a Hearts hero. Bednar said: "If I can stay clear of injury I know I can score more goals for Hearts than I did last season.

"I hope there are special times to come in the Champions League but as a striker and I must try to score in every game."

Hearts boss Valdas Ivanauskas had a further look at trialist Tiago Costa but has still to decide whether to offer him a permanent deal.

Ivanauskas was delighted with the result but disappointed with the goal his side conceded.

He said: "We played very well the first 35 minutes and had control of the game but the second half was a bit slack.

"We gave away a silly goal due to a lack of concentration and it is a little bit of a problem for us as we lost a late goal to draw our last pre-season game in Austria.

"However, the players understand that we are just over a week away from the first Champions League game and they did well."

Taken from the Daily Record