Don't expect miracles from Hartley, warns coach McGlynn

HEARTS assistant coach John McGlynn today admitted it was a huge relief to welcome Paul Hartley back into the fold - but warned supporters not to expect too much too soon from the midfielder.

The Tynecastle and Scotland star made his comeback from a lengthy groin injury yesterday afternoon in a closed-doors friendly against Gretna but, after the match, played down speculation that he would be fit to face Rangers in the SPL this weekend.

McGlynn conceded that having Hartley in the squad would be a huge boost to his side but insisted that Hearts won't rush the player, who missed pre-season training as a result of the injury, back into action at Ibrox if he's not ready: "He is a great competitor and a real winner and he gets that attitude across to the rest of the squad. You need that type of player in your team, you can't have enough winners in your side.

"It was a relief for everyone to see him back playing again, he was spraying passes about the park and set up Jamie Mole for our second goal, but I would have thought it might be a bit too soon for him to play against Rangers.

"He played 45 minutes against Gretna and was quite tired afterwards and Saturday's game at Ibrox will be a completely different tempo. We don't want to rush him back and harm his recovery, he's not had a pre-season, so we have to take all of that into consideration.

"He's a big player, a very important player for us and clearly we need him back as soon as possible, he adds so much more to our midfield. It's about getting the balance right and Paul certainly does that."

Midfielder Marius Zaliukas completed his loan move from FBK Kaunas earlier this week and more new faces are expected to arrive at Tynecastle before the transfer window closes at the end of this month. However McGlynn insists that it is quality, not quantity, that Hearts need to concentrate on bringing in and believes the burgeoning Czech market could bear more fruit for the Jambos. He added: "We are still looking to bring in players, but for me it's not about numbers, it's about the calibre of player you bring in. One player can make all the difference if they are real quality - just look at Paul Hartley and the difference that it makes to the side when he is available.

"We brought in a lot of numbers last Christmas, without really signing the right quality of player in my opinion.

"There are lots of options open to us and when you look at somewhere like the Czech Republic, they are one of the highest ranking countries in the world and obviously have a lot of good players over there.

"We already know a bit about the market over there because of players like Rudi Skacel, Roman Bednar and Michal Pospisil and if we can find more players like that then we would be happy with that.

"If you are bringing in players from countries like the Czech Republic, and who can play at international level, then you can't be doing too badly."

Taken from the Scotsman