Passion play

VALDAS IVANAUSKAS will send his Hearts players out to face Sparta Prague tonight under orders to resume the power and passion football of last season and ensure the club gains recognition across Europe.

"Over the next two or three years, my target is to make Hearts a famous team in Europe," commented the head coach on his long-term intentions ahead of this evening's UEFA Cup first round, first leg.

Ivanauskas believes that the UEFA Cup could, in a perverse way, be a better platform on which to formulate his plan rather than the white-hot Champions League arena, assuming Sparta can be dispatched over two legs.

In order to do so, the Lithuanian will ask his players to return to what they do best after the weekend defeat by St Mirren. That means practising the fearless and dominant style of football that served Hearts so well on their way to a second-place league finish and Scottish Cup success last season.

"The players want to get into the UEFA Cup group stages, that's what I want along with Mr Romanov. But we don't feel any pressure," he continued. "It's important we take the game to Sparta. It's important we win this game without conceding any goals. It's important we take a good result with us when we travel to Prague.

"After losing against St Mirren the players must be ready psychologically for the UEFA Cup. We are not ready to go out of Europe just now and everyone at the club wants to stay involved for much longer."

Ivanauskas and his assistant John McGlynn will make a last-minute decision on the fitness of winger Deividas Cesnauskis, who is struggling with a viral complaint and is given just a 50-50 chance of playing.

"He trained on Tuesday but then didn't feel too good yesterday," said McGlynn. "He will be given almost until kick-off because we just don't know how much strength he will have to play in a game of this magnitude. If he can't make it then, because we are short in midfield due to suspensions and players being cup-tied, it may be the case that someone will need to play out of position to compensate."

Hearts will definitely be without striker Edgaras Jankauskas and winger Andy Driver, although Bruno Aguiar has been passed fit and is expected to start the match.

Record signing Mirsad Beslija could also play from the start for the first time this season and Ibrahim Tall has been added to the squad. Ivanauskas is mindful of guarding against the kind of sucker punch which cost Hearts dearly against St Mirren.

He continued: "We know Sparta come here needing a result. We have watched them twice, once at home and once away, and they are very disciplined and solid but I don't think they will just defend for 90 minutes. They will counter-attack and after St Mirren on Saturday we must guard against that.

"When I saw them they played with two very quick and direct strikers, [Mauro] Lustrinelli and [Tomas] Jun. They are dangerous up front and from free-kicks and corners. Jan Simak is also a very capable player."

The Sparta Prague players have revealed their wariness of Hearts' physical approach after watching footage of the Edinburgh club's recent matches. Captain Tomas Sivok is concerned that tonight's match at Murrayfield could evolve into a battle, something he does not believe his colleagues are primed to cope with.

"We watched the game between Rangers and Hearts at Ibrox recently and it was incredibly tough," said Sivok. "It was like a boxing match. We are not used to playing in such a way. In our league, this game would have resulted in four red cards and I'm glad we have an Italian referee [Paolo Bertini] because he won't allow such a massacre."

BBC One Scotland has secured live coverage of the return leg between Sparta Prague and Hearts on Thursday September 28. Kick-off time is 9pm local time [8pm UK].

Taken from the Scotsman