Raising the bar raises the stakes

SKIPPER Steven Pressley admits Hearts' Scottish Cup-winning exploits of last season have made it easier for critics to have a pop at them, but insists he wouldn't have it any other way.

The Tynecastle side are still trying to rediscover the free-flowing football of the last campaign and have come in for some criticism in recent weeks following defeats by St Mirren and Sparta Prague. Despite the flak that's been coming their way though, the Tynecastle side quietly moved in to second place in the SPL table on Sunday, their hard-fought 1-0 victory over Motherwell, combined with Hibs' defeat of Rangers at Easter Road, sending them a point clear of the Ibrox side.

However, you won't catch Pressley trying to have a dig at the club's critics. Indeed, he acknowledges that the team's performances haven't been on a par with the standards they reached last season.

Club owner Vladimir Romanov has admitted to having some influence on team selection and Sunday's line-up, which included four Lithuanians at Fir Park, had his hallmarks all over it. Pressley wasn't drawn into a debate over whether the ever-changing starting 11 has had an adverse effect on his side, but he admitted that questions have been asked of them in recent weeks and was delighted to be able to come up with the right answers at Fir Park.

He said: "It was a very important win for us as a team and very important for our supporters. There were many questions being asked of us going into that match and I think that we came up with the right response.

"Because of the success that we had last season - and because of the standard of personnel that we have at the club - a certain standard is expected from us.

"We have to deal with that, it's part and parcel of playing at this football club right now.

"You have to deal with the responsibilities and the expectation levels.

"At Fir Park on Sunday there was big, big pressure on us and I asked for a lot from our players and I think we responded in the right manner.

"I was very proud to be captain of that team on Sunday because when questions were asked we gave the right response.

"We are now sitting in second place in the league table after enduring what has been a very difficult period for us. We've had a lot of European games, a lot of high-tempo games and to be sitting where we are at this moment in time, I think we can take a lot of positives from that."

Pressley admits that the Motherwell match, against a side who had taken just three points from their opening six games of the season, had been a potential banana skin.

The fact that they rallied as a team to grind out the right result was a source of great pleasure for the Hearts skipper: "Motherwell, after back-to-back losses themselves, would no doubt have seen the game as a bit of an opportunity to turn us over.

"I don't think we've got a particularly good record at Fir Park so there were a number of factors before the game that were maybe against us.

"However we had some big performances and some big characters out on the park and that was very important."

Their hard work could so easily have gone unrewarded though had it not been for the heroic efforts yet again of Craig Gordon, the keeper pulling off two stunning saves after strikes from Keith Lasley and Jim Paterson as time ticked away to deny the Lanarkshire side a share of the spoils and take the heat off of Hearts coach Valdas Ivanauskas, pictured below.

Gordon's star is continually on the rise, a triple save against Sparta Prague probably the pick of his efforts over the last week, and Pressley is a fully paid-up member of the keeper's fan club.

He added: "Time and time again we talk about Craig and to be honest, I can't speak highly enough about him, not only as a goalkeeper, but as a person as well.

"He is a lad who has a great affection for this football club and is desperate for this club to do well and to be part of it.

"Throughout the 90 minutes he might not have had too much to do but he showed his true worth. It's fantastic to have a goalkeeper of his quality at the club at this moment in time."

The relief the Hearts players felt at the final whistle was obvious as they gathered in a huddle in front of their own supporters to acknowledge the team spirit, and delight at earning their fourth win of the season.

Pressley explained: "We just felt that we had done our best and we were delighted to get the win after the last couple of games.

"Yes it has been hard over the last couple of weeks and, yes, there have been choice words said from time to time.

"But they sometimes have to be said, they can be said, and it is about how we react as a team that counts and I think we showed that we are a proper team against Motherwell.

He went on: "I was delighted for our supporters because they are desperate for the kind of success that we want, especially after such a disappointing result and performance on Thursday night against Sparta Prague. Again they followed us through here in their numbers and we were delighted, absolutely delighted, that we could give them the right result."

Next up is the trip to Alloa on CIS Cup duty tomorrow night and Pressley is hoping the Jambos can build on Sunday's victory and edge a step closer to another piece of silverware for the trophy cabinet: "Several years ago we reached the semi-finals of the competition and, after winning the Scottish Cup last season, it is important that we look to compete in every competition.

"The only way that our younger players will develop and gain the experience required for the bigger games is by progressing in competitions like the CIS Cup.

"Okay, there's no entry to Europe through the competition, but there's plenty of incentive for us to do well.

"It would be fantastic to go one better than last year and find ourselves in possession of both the CIS Cup and the Scottish Cup, it would be a great achievement."

Taken from the Scotsman