Neil to reach fever pitch

THE last six months have brought nothing but heartbreak and hard graft for Neil McCann but he is desperate to put that all behind him by finally making his long-awaited Tynecastle comeback this weekend.

The Hearts winger re-signed for Valdas Ivanauskas' side in January after spells at Rangers and Southampton but lasted just 23 minutes of his first game back in maroon against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park berore he suffered knee ligament damage.

After months of blood, sweat and tears - and the further setback of an ankle injury - his rehabilitation is coming to an end and McCann is at last poised to make his home "debut" for the second time in his career when Gordon Strachan's Celtic side travel to Edinburgh on SPL duty this weekend.

It is the moment McCann has been waiting for, his only experience of walking out on the Tynecastle pitch in his second spell at the club so far coming as part of the Scottish Cup celebrations back in May.

He received a huge ovation when he was introduced to the Hearts supporters that day and, having started both of Hearts' Champions League qualifiers against Siroki Brijeg and the opening league match against Dunfermline, McCann is expected to be afforded the same welcome on Sunday against the SPL champions, only this time he'll be out there trying to win a match.

He said: "I'm really looking forward to it. It's amazing how long I've been back here and I still haven't played at Tynecastle but the supporters have been great so far and I'm keen just to get on the pitch and get playing at the old place again.

"It's a special place and it's unique in its atmosphere so I'm quite looking forward to sampling that on Sunday. It's not about individuals, though, it's about the team."

Sunday's match against Celtic will be followed just three days later by the first leg of that Champions League qualifier with AEK Athens and hot on the heels of that match will be SPL games against Falkirk and Rangers before Hearts travel to Greece for the away leg four days later.

It is a crucial period for the club and one they must come through relatively unscathed if they harbour real ambitions of attaining success on both the domestic and European front.

The big games will keep coming thick and fast if Hearts can make it into the group stages of the Champions League and it could prove to be a physically and mentally draining period.

However, McCann is keen to emphasise that he and his team-mates would not have it any other way. He added: "The big matches keep coming but that's the price you pay for being successful. It's far too early for Sunday to have any bearing on the league. It's only the second game of the season, so I don't expect it to have any effect whatsoever. It's just important for us to keep this run going.

"We are still unbeaten and we aim to keep it that way. It's game by game but every match we are facing just now is different because we're going from Europe to domestic football. We'll prepare for the Celtic game now and see how it goes.

"Facing European and domestic games in quick succession is what you must prepare for if you're a successful side. I thought we were very patient in the first game against Siroki, we knew the goals would come and they did. We had to be very patient over there and play to a gameplan that would make sure we didn't lose a goal. If we could get one it, then great, but we weren't going to go crazy and try to steal it.

"That approach can help us in Athens. They are two totally different sides but you have to prepare the same way."

While the performance in the Pecara Stadium in Bosnia- Herzegovina itself may not go down in the 'classic' category, the 3-0 aggregate victory eased Hearts into the third qualifying round of the competition.

Tynecastle keeper Craig Gordon more than played his part in the second leg, pulling off a top-drawer save in the first half from Mislav Karoglan's well-struck free-kick.

It was one of a trio of important saves by Gordon, his man-of-the-match performance showing exactly why he is Scotland's number one goalkeeper and the part he and his defence played in ensuring Hearts' place in the third round didn't go unnoticed by McCann, who added: "They were a decent team but we never lost a goal at all over the two legs, which is good.

"Everybody knows how important Craig is to the team. I felt the defence was very good in general, with Elvis and Christophe Berra doing especially well in the centre. It was really important just to go through in the tie and we are very pleased not to have lost a goal. Keeping a clean sheet away from home in Europe doesn't often happen for Scottish clubs.

"Let's be honest, it wasn't a pretty game and we never played great football but the most important thing was to go over there and deal with things. We knew they would come at us and change their game a little from the first leg but we were quite disciplined in terms of our shape and we never tried to go crazy for the killer goal, so I think it's quite pleasing to come away with a 0-0 scoreline."

Hearts now move onwards and upwards to an altogether more difficult proposition in the next round - Greek side AEK Athens at Murrayfield next Wednesday.

The Greekswill indeed provide a stiffer test than the Bosnians and McCann concedes that, if they are to progress to the lucrative group stages of the competition, Hearts will have to raise their game.

The Gorgie side were criticised by owner Vladimir Romanov after their performance against Siroki on Wednesday night, the Lithuanian banker stating that he did not believe the team looked properly prepared for the gruelling campaign ahead of them.

McCann is hoping to prove Romanov wrong by helping Hearts into the group stages although he admitted: "The two games against Siroki Brijeg go right out the window now. We have to focus on what will be two totally different matches. We will need to up our game because AEK are a very good side with a lot of experience throughout the team. If we're going to make the group stages, we will have to raise our game to another level."

Taken from the Scotsman