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| <-Page | <-Team | Wed 02 Aug 2006 NK Siroki Brijeg 0 Hearts 0 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | Herald ------ Report | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Valdas Ivanauskas | <-auth | Martin Mcmillan | auth-> | Viktor Kassai |
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It should be plane sailing from hereMARTIN McMILLAN August 02 2006 Hearts' departure from Edinburgh Airport may have suffered a minor setback due to a faulty fire alarm yesterday afternoon, but they will be expecting few such hitches when they step out for their Champions League second qualifying round tie with Siroki Brijeg this evening. Not even the unexpected evacuation of the capital's airport, due to dust in the alarm system, could upset Hearts' preparations as they attempt to reach the final qualifying round of the competition where they will meet AEK should they overcome the Bosnian champions. The Hearts players, whose charter flight was unaffected by the delay, trained at Siroki's spartan Pecara stadium last night. The Bosnians' home arena is a compact one which nestles high up in the hills, 22 kilometres southwest of the nearest city, Mostar. Steven Pressley, the Hearts captain, was quick to emphasise he has he sights on more glamorous venues should his team-mates, 3-0 to the good from their first-leg tie last week, complete the second half of their task tonight. "It's every players' dream to play at the highest level and in European club football, the Champions League is the highest level," said Pressley. "In order for us to get the opportunity to play in those stadiums [San Siro, Bernabeu] we have to show that we are capable of beating the likes of the Bosnians. "I've obviously experienced greater football arenas, but the playing surface looks fine so I'm looking forward to the game. I don't fear for ourselves at all. I think we've got very good professionals within the squad. We've got great belief that we can finish the job over here." Moments later, the Hearts head coach, Valdas Ivanauskas, whose only gripe about the pitch was that the grass was too long, appeared to signal the end of Mirsad Beslija's time at Tynecastle despite including the Bosnian wide man in his squad. Beslija, who signed last January for a fee believed to be in the region of £850,000 from Racing Genk, has only made three starts for the Tynecastle side and could be on his way back to Belgium. Lokeren and Club Brugge are reported to be interested in the player and Ivanauskas seemed less than concerned by the prospect of losing the player. "He can stay if he wants but we need the Mirsad Beslija of old. I know him from years ago and he is a good player but he needs fitness," he said. "He has had small problems in pre-season with injuries and his fitness wasn't what I wanted after he came back from holiday. "He had another small injury last week and that's no good for him. He is a good player but if he has ambition to play regularly, and good clubs come in for him then it will be good for him and good for everybody." Earlier in the day, all talk had been about the impending threat from Siroki. Indeed, the Tynecastle club presented a united front as they departed Scotland with Neil McCann, the winger, and Ivanauskas, the head coach, warning of the dangers of underestimating tonight's opponents. "We have to be careful because it's a dangerous game but we are going there to win," said the latter. "It's a European game and it is very important that we go through to the next round." McCann was more forthright and warned nothing could be taken for granted despite the size of the task facing the Bosnians. The 31-year-old said: "It was nice to see the draw and the possibility of who we might face in the third qualifier, but we are all professional enough to make sure we get the right result in this game and then we can look forward to the next match. "In every game you have to guard against complacency. But, obviously, when you are going abroad to different countries where they play different styles of football, then you have to be on your guard all the time. You cannot be blase and think the job is already done. We are going to give Siroki every respect.  Taken from the Herald |
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