Forget Sparta we'll need all our strength against Dons

VALDAS IVANAUSKAS today vowed to field his strongest possible side for the trip to Aberdeen even with the trip to Sparta Prague in the UEFA Cup coming up on Thursday.

The Hearts coach steered his side into second place in the league last season and a place in the Champions League qualifiers but believes Jimmy Calderwood's side will be one of their main rivals for that accolade this time round.

The Pittodrie outfit have enjoyed a successful start to their campaign, having lost just once in the opening seven games of the season, and Ivanauskas is expecting a tough test when they travel to Pittodrie tomorrow afternoon.

He made 11 changes for his side's midweek 4-0 CIS Cup win over Alloa at Recreation Park, goalkeeper Steve Banks and youngsters Alan Lithgow and Eggert Johnson among those given their chance in the 90 minutes, but will field a more orthodox line-up tomorrow.

While he may have one eye on Thursday night's UEFA Cup first round second leg with Sparta Prague, it certainly won't be reflected in his starting line-up tomorrow and he insisted: "We will play our best players against Aberdeen, even though we have the Sparta Prague game to think about.

"Right now the Aberdeen game is the most important one, it is the one we are thinking about.

"There are still three or four days after that game before we play Sparta so, yes, we will put out the strongest team possible.

"Aberdeen have had a good start to the season and I think that Jimmy Calderwood has a big chance of doing well in the league this season. I said in pre-season that I think that this year there won't just be two or three teams competing, there will maybe be four or five teams in competitionfor the SPL title and Aberdeen are one of them, they have had a good start."

Hearts haven't been able to recapture the free-flowing football of last season which became their trademark but the Tynecastle coach is more than happy for his side to win ugly, as long as they get the points in the bag. He admitted they have been through a difficult period recently but, with at least one half of the Old Firm guaranteed to drop points this weekend, acknowledged that this could be a pivotal week for the club's league and European ambitions.

He said: "It is a big week for us, but we can't look at the other games, we want to concentrate only on our own performances and results.

"If we are working hard and getting the right results then that is all that matters. We need continuity because it is good for the players. It was difficult for us when we lost to St Mirren and to Sparta Prague, but I was happy with how the players responded and listened, it was very serious. To win against Motherwell and Alloa was very important, particularly for the players' self-confidence.

"We have been working very hard and we have to continue like that, to put in positive performances and get positive results.

"At this moment in time, the most important thing for us is not to play beautiful football but just to get the right results.

"The last few games have been okay, Sunday is another game and, from the games that we played against them last season, we know that it will be very difficult. It will be a very hard game for us."

Taken from the Scotsman