Sparta fear factor at Murrayfield

SPARTA PRAGUE touched down in Edinburgh this morning fearful that their season could implode with a UEFA Cup defeat to Hearts tomorrow night.

The Czechs have been disheartened by a start to their domestic season which has cost head coach Stanislav Griga his job and seen the side struggle for form. Additionally, the journey to Edinburgh is the first European tie in the managerial career of Griga's replacement Michal Bilek.

Sparta beat Tescoma Zlin 2-0 on Saturday in Bilek's first match in charge whilst assistant coaches Horst Siegl and Zdenko Frtala were at Tynecastle taking in Hearts' home defeat by St Mirren. Siegl and Frtala held a strategy meeting with Bilek in Prague yesterday and will opt for a defensive approach at Murrayfield in the hope of stifling the Hearts attack.

Sparta spokesman Jan Hala told the Evening News: "Mr Bilek is a little bit nervous because it's his first international game as a manager, not just with Sparta but with any team. So he has no experience in this arena.

"As I understand they will play on the break against Hearts and try a defensive approach. The players know they must play at their best because the team was in a crisis.

"They didn't play very well against Tescoma Zlin. The win was lucky. We start off with a 50-50 chance against Hearts but we are not playing well this season. Now that we have a new coach the players want to show themselves."

Sparta's weekend goalscorer Libor Dosek is unlikely to start the match with Bilek likely to field Tomas Jun as a lone striker. Hala added: "I don't know if Dosek will start because we think Michal will try more options. It's really up to the coach and he will take a final decision tomorrow but normally Tomas Jun starts.

"There are some slight injuries to some players but I believe they will all be able to play." With Sparta preparing to sit in and block the route to goal, Hearts head coach Valdas Ivanauskas has been left to curse a lengthy list of injury concerns. He must also contend with the ineligibility of his three recent Lithuanian signings, Marius Zaliukas, Andrius Velicka and Kestutis Ivaskevicius, all of whom are cup-tied after playing in this season's UEFA Cup for FBK Kaunas.

Sparta are encouraged by Ivanauskas' selection problems and also believe they can exploit the fact that Hearts must adapt their game when playing home matches at Murrayfield.

Hala continued: "I visited Murrayfield with our assistant coach and we have reported back to Mr Bilek. There is a big difference between Tynecastle and Murrayfield and we believe playing there will be a disadvantage to Hearts.

"They are used to playing at a full stadium so it will be a big change for them at Murrayfield. Hearts lost their last game so perhaps it is not the best conditions for them."

Matthew Park is included in the Hearts squad and could come into contention in midfield for a game for which 22,000 tickets have been sold.

Meanwhile, Hearts reserves lost 2-1 away to Inverness last night.

Taken from the Scotsman