WE'VE GOT TO TAKE RISKS... BUT WE CAN TURN IT ROUND

PAUL HARTLEY last night refused to accept that Hearts' European dream has been shattered for another season.

The midfielder vowed that he and his team-mates can still rescue the tie despite a demoralising 2-0 defeat by Sparta Prague.

But Hartley insists they will have to take massive risks in the second leg in the Czech Republic in a fortnight to get the victory they need to reach the UEFA Cup lucrative group stage.

Considering the way the Jambos capitulated to Sparta at rain-sodden Murrayfield that could be a forlorn hope.

The Tynecastle side face the real prospect of being turfed out of two European competitions before the season is barely two months old.

They were dumped out of the final Champions League qualifying round by AEK Athens earlier this month.

Even the most diehard Jambos fan would have to accept the club's hopes of progressing are hanging by a thread.

Hartley tried to explain why the team were so poor but insisted they would have a real go in the second leg of the first round tie in Prague.

And he is convinced the Tynecastle side have enough battling Scottish characters to rescue them from an embarrassing double Euro exit.

Hartley said: "We have to go to Prague and take risks and we know after this result that we have to win by a few goals.

"But we have the players in the side who are still capable of doing it.

"There are enough Scots with character and enough good players in our dressing room to help us qualify from this tie.

"Steven Pressley is a fantastic leader and it will not be a problem trying to motivate ourselves. We are 2-0 down and now have nothing to lose.

"If we play to our potential we can win over there. But we will have to have a real go.

"Sparta were a good side but they were not in the same class as AEK Athens in the Champions League.

"We did not play well tonight, it's as simple as that, but we cannot feel sorry for ourselves.

"The players want to experience the European stage every year and to do so consistently we have to do well in the SPL."

Hartley refused to blame the soaking Murrayfield pitch as an excuse for their dismal defeat.

Torrential rain before kick-off made the underfoot conditions treacherous.

He said: "We are not going to start blaming the pitch. The surface was fine after 10 minutes."

Hartley admitted the margin of defeat might have been wider had it not been for keeper Craig Gordon and he heaped praise on the Scotland star. He said: "Craig has never been off his game and some of the saves he made were fantastic.

"He has been performing like that for the past four seasons and no one needs to tell me how good a keeper he is."

Gordon agreed with Hartley that Hearts can still turn the tie on its head.

He conceded that it was an extremely flat display and that they let the fans down.

Gordon said: "It's disappointing - we blew a great chance to register a good result to take to Prague.

"We were very poor and there are a few reasons for that. We had a fairly weakened side and there were a few changes to the starting line-up.

"Hopefully they will be back for the second leg and we can do the unimaginable and score a few goals.

"The pitch was very heavy, the ball was getting stuck and players were falling over the ball. Of course, it was the same for Sparta.

"The first half was fairly even but in the second half we did most of the defending.

"I don't think there is a lack of confidence in the side. We have leaders who will come to the fore in the next few weeks and we will bounce back from this.

"The atmosphere was flat as we did not give the fans anything to cheer about.

"We knew Sparta were a good team and they were starting to come on to a good game. They have some technically-gifted players and they proved that at times.

"It's going to take a massive effort to turn this tie around. We have to go there and score a few goals and we will have to make it an open game.

"It will be difficult but we are not giving anything up just yet. We did so well to bring European football here and want to extend that run.

"We want to taste more of it and hopefully we can still pull this out of the fire."

But Gordon ruled out the latest outburst at referees by club owner Vladimir Romanov on the eve of the game as upsetting Hearts' preparations. He said: "We have to pull together.

"There a re some strong-minded players in the dressing room and we have to focus for the rest of the season.

"The players take nothing to do with the off-the-field stuff and we prepare for every game the same way."

Taken from the Daily Record