CHAMPIONS RUN COULD HELP US BE CHAMPIONS

STEVEN PRESSLEY reckons a Champions League charge from Hearts could fire off the strongest challenge yet to the Old Firm for the SPL title.

That's how important tonight's qualifying tie with Bosnians Siroki Brijeg in front of a 20,000-plus crowd at Murrayfield is to the Tynecastle captain.

Vladimir Romanov, Hearts' owner, says he believes Celtic and Rangers are standing still.

Pressley has taken a look at the players in the dressing room beside him and come to the conclusion he's never worked in a more highly charged, forward-going atmosphere.

He said: "I can sense the intensity and the pressure when I come in for training every day.

"We reported back to pre-season training earlier than usual to prepare for this qualifying round in Europe and everything we've done so far has been geared towards this moment.

"It seems no time at all since we won the Scottish Cup against Gretna but we have to realise that this game against Siroki could represent the start of an enormous advance in terms of the club's future development.

"I believe it's a possibility Hearts could win the SPL title and there could be a spin-off effect for us if we can make a positive run in Europe in the early stages of the season."

Being positive allowed Pressley to hold the dressing room together during the managerial changes and internal upheaval that periodically threatened to disrupt the road to splitting the Old Firm last season.

And he won't let negative feelings disturb his image of Hearts using Euro success to bolster domestic progress.

Romanov insists that spending money on transfers is now less important than developing youth at Tynecastle, in spite of Hearts being arguably weaker now than they were when they won reached the Champions League qualifiers.

Rudi Skacel and Andy Webster are on their way out and Paul Hartley will be unavailable through injury for tonight's game at Murrayfield.

And the bottom line for Hearts is that the reverse of contemplating European and domestic glory is realising this is the round without a safety net.

If Hearts lose to Siroki over two legs, there's no access to the UEFA Cup and only a one-way ticket back home for the remainder of the season. But Pressley doesn't do pessimism.

He said: "You could also look at the Bosnians and point out that they're mid-season so far as their domestic championship's concerned, which is well ahead of ourselves.

"But there's nothing that we can allow to be put forward as an excuse and we wouldn't even try to do that.

"I've been looking at the other players for days and the expression on their faces says to me, 'Let's go and do this for Hearts'.

"We've also been boosted by the tremendous level of interest shown by Hearts supporters and the way they've snapped up tickets after taking seasonbook sales to record quotas.

"The feelgood factor is definitely there and this night could rank among the most memorable in Hearts' history.

"Potentially, there's a fantastic event in prospect at Murrayfield and one that could help enhance the club's profile on a continental basis.

"One day it could help us attract greater quality to the club and move us forward even further. One competition could also feed off the other and bolster our chances of winning the SPL title.

"We might have lost players since the end of last season but we've still got a squad capable of doing something like making a real challenge for the title.

"There is a solidity about us but it's reached the stage where I'm not interested in plaudits any more. I want to see prizes for Hearts.

"But to make that ambition come true I'll have to play my part to bring even more quality to Hearts' performances than we've shown at any stage on the road to where we are today."

Pressley has seen the Old Firm from the inside and out and wouldn't be rash enough to dismiss either of the Glasgow clubs as losers in an M8 revolution to re-route the course of the championship from west to east.

He said: "Celtic came good last season after they were caught cold by Artmedia Bratislava in the Champions League qualifiers so I don't read anything into the six friendly matches they've played this summer so far.

"We'll see a different Celtic when the competitive season begins.

"I haven't watched Rangers play since Paul Le Guen took over the club but what I can vouch for, sight unseen, is that they'll be a more determined side than the one we beat into second place in the league table.

"But we have a genuine belief in ourselves and we'll concentrate on our own strengths without taking anything for granted about the opposition when we face Siroki.

"They'll be a good side because you don't find any other kind at this stage of the Champions League."

Scottish football's modern history in Europe is littered with examples of sides who should have won against less fancied opposition but didn't.

Pressley has no intention of watching Hearts' name being added to the list of wounded egos. Not when the alternative option is to reach new heights of achievement.

Taken from the Daily Record