Berra tips Jambos to bounce back

Christophe Berra is confident Hearts will shrug off their UEFA Cup woe against Sparta Prague to end a four-year barren run at Fir Park.

After their dismal 2-0 defeat by the Czech Republic side in the first leg of their UEFA Cup first round tie at Murrayfield on Thursday, the pressure is on the Tynecastle side to bounce back with a win over the Steelmen who are rooted at the bottom with only one league win to their credit.

However, Berra said: "Our heads are definitely not down and our main concern now is Motherwell which is going to be a difficult game for us because we haven't had the best of luck there in recent seasons.

"We know we will have to go there and work very hard to get a result.

"Motherwell have not been doing well recently so they will be working extremely hard themselves to get the win.

"We have got to match that and if we do then I hope our ability comes through.

"Hopefully a good result at Fir Park, if we get it, will get the wheels rolling again.

"We've got a lot of injuries and suspensions just now but we still have got players capable of winning. We know this is going to be difficult game but it's going to be a hard season.

"Every team is up for playing against us but we've got a great team spirit and we'll come through this."

Berra is also confident that the Jambos can turn around their European tie in the return game in Prague.

"Obviously it is disappointing when you get beat 2-0 at home," lamented the Gorgie stopper. "But it was just one of these things, sometimes you play well, sometimes you don't.

"They played well on the night. You could see that they are a decent outfit and they have a lot of Champions League experience in their team.

"But the tie is not over, it's only half-time and we've got to go over to Prague and be on the front foot from the first minute.

"If we get an early goal they will be under a lot of pressure and hopefully we can go on from there."