ELVIS BEGS FOR BETTER REFS AS HE INSISTS JAMBOS WON'T CHANGE

STEVEN PRESSLEY says Hearts will never lose their bite but insists they need refs with the bottle to give them a break in Europe.

Hearts touched down in Edinburgh at 6am yesterday, after a delayed flight from Athens, still raging over Julien Brellier's dismissal. But skipper Pressley is confident his team can make their mark on the UEFA Cup - provided they aren't hampered by poor decisions from officials.

Pressley said: "I think we can take a lot of credit for our display in Athens.

"It was a fantastic performance but over the two legs - and I'm not one to blame officials - refereeing decisions cost us dearly.

The decision against Julien seemed very harsh and a gripe of ours was that a lot of the AEK players were also wearing jewellery.

"We made that clear after Julien was booked but the referee failed to take any action which was disappointing.

"I don't think we have to adapt to European refs because aggression is a feature of our game. We are an aggressive team and if we lose that edge then we certainly won't play in the same fashion.

"It's important we keep the aggression but we have to hope for a better referee next time. Normally we'd be devastated at losing 3-0 but as a team we thought we gave a fantastic performance.

We played some excellent counter-attacking football and carved out the better opportunities when the scores were level.

"We were very compact and when we broke we broke with pace."

"That's the style we need to play to be successful in the UEFA Cup. Playing with nine men against a very good side takes its toll and unfortunately we lost three late goals. However, I think it's safe to say that wasn't a true reflection of the game.

"We learned a lot over the four qualifying games and I think we'll be a better European team for them.

"We played with far more maturity in the second leg against AEK than in the first and that was encouraging especially for the younger players. Now we have the UEFA Cup and it would be fantastic if we could make an impact in that because I do believe that we're capable of doing so."

Pressley reckons there is no need for Vladimir Romanov to bankroll any major signings before the transfer window shuts next week but admits Hearts need their players fully fit to stand up to the demands of the SPL and a possible run in the UEFA Cup.

Aclutch of strikers were unable to start in Athens because of injury or illness but Pressley reckons teenage rookie Jamie Mole proved he can handle the step up. The Scotland defender said: "The quality is there in our squad and it was pleasing to see Paul Hartley back.

"Jamie gave a terrific performance for someone so young - he caused them problems all night, took the ball in and was a willing runner but we need to get Michal Pospisil and Roman Bednar fit again.

"Neil McCann continues to get games under his belt so we have a real chance of making an impact in the UEFA Cup with our full squad available.

"We have fantastic strength in depth but we've been very unfortunate with injuries early in the season.

"Now players are returning to fitness slowly but surely and that will make a big difference."

Taken from the Daily Record