Champions League Match Preview: Hearts v NK Siroki Brijeg

Just over 18 months ago, this would have seemed near impossible as the club was immersed in debts and looked set to sell their Edinburgh home as part of hated former chief exec. Chris Robinson’s plans.

Since then there has been the obvious sea change in Hearts fortune as they finished 2nd last season, splitting the Old Firm for the first time since 1995 and clinching the Scottish Cup. Of course there have been the occasional glitches, such as Graham Rix, but aside from them it really has been a great time to be a Hearts fan

Team wise, despite still “officially” being Hearts players, want away duo Rudi Skacel and Andy Webster will be absent from the squad. Injury wise, the Jambos will have to do without Paul Hartley, Jose Goncalves and potentially Julian Brellier, but the pre-match squad does feature the surprise inclusion of Neil McCann, who has so far only played 23 minutes of competitive football since his return to Hearts in January.

Calum Elliot and Lee Wallace are also unavailable, as they are still on Scotland U19’s duty.

As the game will be contested at Murrayfield due to UEFA regulations, it will also be interesting to see how much of a crowd the game draws, with the club themselves confirming that over 20,000 tickets have already been sold.

Their official site also states that emails have been sent to 40,000 Scottish rugby supporters, in an attempt to further boost the crowd. The side also played at Murrayfield last week, when in a friendly they despatched the Spanish side Osasuana, in front of 18,000 fans.

Their opponents hail from that mecca of footballing excellence, Bosnia-Herzegovina. NK won the Bosnian Premier League in 2006, after first clinching the title in 2004. Hearts fans will struggle to get tickets for the away leg as their stadium, Pecara, only holds 10,000 fans.

The game certainly marks what could be the start of an exciting new era for Hearts fans. Obviously there is a spot of the unknown about their opponents which would surely make most Jambos confident, but simply uttering the words “Artmedia” will remind them that sometimes the dark horses can prove the most dangerous.

Sam Cullen