ACROPOLIS NOW

A solid effort in Bosnia on Tuesday will put Hearts within two games of the Champions League. But, asks Alan Campbell, are they equipped to wage two campaigns at once?

SO far, at least, fortune is smiling on Hearts’ European adventure. Qualifying round draws against NK Siroki Brijeg and AEK Athens have encouraged the prospect of the Edinburgh club reaching the Champions League proper.

Three matches have still to be negotiated, starting with Tuesday night’s second leg tie in Bosnia, but Valdas Ivanauskas and his players couldn’t have asked for much fairer than they’ve so far received. However, while Hearts aren’t yet riding their luck, without quality additions to this squad it looks like they will be soon.

Assuming the Tynecastle side, as they should, comfortably hold on to their three goal advantage against Siroki Brijeg, owner Vladimir Romanov may feel he can afford to release funds for new players. A place in the Uefa Cup, at the very least, awaits if Hearts move into the third qualifying round – but then again Romanov may decide to hold fire until the outcome of the AEK Athens games is certain.

That would still leave a week until the end of the current transfer window, although by then the pick of the available crop will have been harvested. Either way, Romanov must realise that additions will be necessary if Hearts are to remain competitive in the league while also participating in the Champions League.

The signing, on a year’s loan, of Chilean striker Mauricio Pinilla may yet prove to be an inspired move, but there is scant evidence in his record since moving to Europe that he is capable of holding down a first team place, or creating a rich source of goals.

Bluntly, and despite the arrival of a full team of players in January, the Hearts squad is arguably less impressive now than it was 13 months ago. There are more on the pay roll, but how many of those who have come in are genuinely better than the ones that were at George Burley’s disposal?

Damn few is the answer, if indeed any. Jose Goncalves may prove an exception if he ever manages a decent run of games. Mirsad Beslija, at £850,000, ought to be another, but there are less sightings of him than there are of Tommy Sheridan’s defence team in the Court of Session.

Set against this, of last season’s best players, Rudi Skacel yesterday agreed to rejoin Burley, this time at Southampton and Andy Webster, contrary to reports, is set to sign for Wigan as soon as the Premiership club receive notice that Fifa are sanctioning the transfer.

Watching Hearts toil in the heat of the first half at Murrayfield on Wednesday night, the Champions League looked a mirage. Ivanauskas had substitutes Michal Pospisil and Saulius Mikoliunas stripped and ready to come on even before an own goal eased his side’s worries early in the second half, and although the final scoreline was gratifying, it owed much to the limitations of the opposition.

Neil McCann, in his prime, would have waltzed past the lumbering Siroki Brijeg right-back Branimir Anic, but the winger is still some games away from that kind of performance. On the other flank, Deividas Cesnauskis came on to a fine match, but he and Mikoliunas in tandem are worryingly lightweight and prone to crumple to the ground at the slightest provocation. Neither, it might be added, positions himself remotely as cleverly for opportunistic goals as Skacel.

If the Czech midfielder’s goals will be sorely missed, there is at least optimism for Ivanauskas that Christophe Berra can eventually fill Webster’s boots. Although Goncalves is likely to be Pressley’s regular partner, Berra is a confident, intelligent, young player who could progress quickly and, like Robbie Neilson last season, make the position his own.

Ibrahim Tall, in what smacked of a desperate measure, was asked on the day to be the holding midfielder at Murrayfield. That may not have worked, but apart from the kind draws Hearts have received, the most obvious example of fortune smiling kindly on the Edinburgh side was Tall’s crucial involvement in the opening two goals. His pressure forced Anic to head the first into his own net and he scored the second himself.

With the other central midfielder, Bruno Aguiar, remaining difficult to assess – the impression is of a tidy, but unthreatening, player – Hearts will need a fully fit Julien Brellier and Paul Hartley if they are to succeed against AEK Athens.

The good news on Hartley’s groin injury is that he could be ready to play a reserve game this week, while Brellier came on for the last few minutes at Murrayfield. All the indications are that Hartley’s presence will be even more vital than it was last season; his boundless creative energy and set-piece brilliance lift Hearts above being industriously competent.

If Hartley’s presence is essential, the absence of a sharp, penalty box striker is the biggest impediment to Hearts reaching the group stages. For most of Wednesday night’s match, Edgaras Jankauskas was in the pocket of Boris Pandza and Roman Bednar was shackled by Ivica Landeka.

Ironically, a rare mistake by the No 5 let Bednar in for the crucial late third goal which, given the miserliness of a Hearts defence anchored by Craig Gordon, surely puts the tie beyond the Bosnians. But while Jankauskas’s replacement, Pospisil, brought a slightly better blend of styles up front, Hearts need the sharp contrast which a different kind of striker would bring.

Three top quality additions to the squad, one in each department of the side, is probably all Hearts need to remain competitive in the Premierleague if they do reach the Champions League. But, without these new signings, the crock of gold which the European competition will bring could be offset by declining league form.

Some Hearts fans will also be dismayed by the decision to play AEK Athens at Murrayfield, rather than accept the smaller gate and reduced revenue at Tynecastle.

Sitting in the West Stand on Wednesday night, it seemed for long periods of the game as if the 28,000 Hearts fans were being outsung by a straggle of Siroki Brijeg supporters who kept up a 90-minute rendition of tuneless chants.

That may be down to the acoustics of a half-empty stadium – supporters in other parts of the ground reported a decent atmosphere – but there is no doubt in this observer’s mind that playing the third qualifying round at a packed and hostile Tynecastle would substantially improve Hearts’ chances of taking a winning lead to Athens next month.

But it’s not going to happen, so Ivanauskas and his players will be hoping that fortune keeps smiling kindly.

Taken from the Sunday Herald