TIE'S AT MURRAYFIELD

HEARTS have confirmed their entire UEFA Cup campaign will be staged at a half- empty Murrayfield.

The Edinburgh club were paired with Sparta Prague yesterday and victory over the Czechs will secure a place for Hearts in the group stage of the competition ' andapossible£5millionbounty.

But moments after seeing his side given a desperately difficult tie secretary Campbell Ogilvie revealed the home leg on September 14 will not be held at Tynecastle.

Hearts pulled in more than 32,000 fans at Murrayfield for the Champions League qualifier aganst AEK Athens and the club have chosen to stage all future European matches at the home of rugby.

Ogilvie said: "We have done a deal to play all our Eurpean games there and that still stands."

Valdas Ivanauskas and his players face a massive challenge to see off Sparta for a place in the lucrative league section.

Ogilvie added: "It's a difficult draw but that was always going to be the case when you are not a seed. There is a big prize at the end of it."

Taken from the Daily Record