DONS GO ALL OUT TO BREAK HEARTS

JIMMY CALDERWOOD last night claimed Hearts face a serious test of character to stay in the SPL title race.

And the Aberdeen boss aims to make their task even more difficult by claiming a win against them on Sunday.

Calderwood said: "Hearts did great last season but they are in a difficult phase at the moment, playing twice a week from the start of the campaign.

"They built a strong squad to try to do well in Europe but that backfired against AEK Athens in the Champions League qualifier.

"They then had one of the toughest UEFA Cup draws possible against Sparta Prague and being forced to switch the first leg to Murrayfield went against them as well.

"Hearts have lost a lot more SPL points than a year ago and, after losing the first leg 2-0, face the disappointment of going out of the UEFA Cup next week, which will cost a lot of money.

"It will depend on how they handle that and how the players react.

Pressure

"The biggest test for Hearts will be to keep things going now and only time will tell if they have what it takes to do that.

"That's why all the top teams in the world are where they are because they handle that sort of pressure on a weekly basis season after season.

"Hearts have a massive squad of players which can help at times but it can also be a hindrance with players unhappy at not playing.

"But they came through a really difficult away game at Motherwell with full points last Sunday, which typifies their character.

"They have battling qualities but they miss Rudi Skacel and Andy Webster is a big loss for them as well.

"Take nothing away from the kid Christophe Berra but Pressley and Webster were really strong at the back and they've missed the influence of Paul Hartley through injury. Hartley is still trying to get match-fit and there have been disruptive injuries and suspensions which means they've not had asettled team.

"My hope is it remains like that for the next few days at least as they're not playing as well as they can. We intend to take advantage if that's the case. The next five or six weeks are very important for everybody because no side has really hit top form yet - even Celtic and Rangers have struggled a bit."

The Dons could overhaul Hearts and move into second place in the league with a win on Sunday.

And Calderwood warned his players to shrug off their inconsistency and seize the chance.

He said: "It will be a major statement from my players with regard to the rest of the season if we can beat Hearts. We have to concentrate on our game. We have the best defensive record in the league at the moment but attacking-wise must do a lot more.

Aberdeen's home game against Hibs on October 28 could be brought forward 24 hours and become the first SPL match to be screened live on a Friday night by Setanta.

The Caley Thistle v Dons game the following week in Inverness is also under consideration.

Taken from the Daily Record