VLAD'S EURO ROCKET HAS LIT UP OUR SEASON

MICHAL POSPISIL has revealed how a verbal rocket from Vladimir Romanov has lit up the season for Hearts.

The Czech striker has told how the furious club owner "made a storm" in the dressing room the day after their first leg UEFA Cup defeat to Sparta Prague.

The Jambos jet out to the Czech Republic this morning bidding to overturn their 2-0 first leg deficit tomorrow night.

Pospisil reckons they might just pull it off and progress to the group stage because Romanov's blast at his top-team squad has already had the desired effect.

They have since won three games on the road - at Motherwell and Aberdeen in the SPL and Alloa in the CIS Cup.

Former Sparta Prague star Pospisil has told the Czech media how Romanov addressed the players in the dressing room less than 24 hours after their first leg defeat at Murrayfield.

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It is not the first time he has spoken to his team after a game - he also did it last season in the aftermath of George Burley's departure.

Pospisil said: "He made a storm but this is his right - and maybe it helped us as we fought hard for a win in our next game against Motherwell.

"We didn't play at our best but victories like that push you on to give better performances - and in our last game against Aberdeen we played very well.

"We may have lost the first game 2-0 but our fans are looking forward to Prague and they want to enjoy the match.

"Sparta played very well in the first leg. If we want to progress in this competition, we must score early and play at the limits of our potential. We also must hope Sparta have a bad evening."

Pospisil, 27, is distraught at missing out on the chance of facing his former team-mates as he recovers from a hip muscle injury picked up in last month's 2-0 defeat at Rangers.

He played with Sparta from the age of 13 and even met his wife when she worked as a secretary at the club. His uncle, Josef Pessice, still works with Sparta's youth teams.

Pospisil added: "I spent a lot of years at Sparta and really wanted to play against them but it looks like it will not be possible.

"I want to stay abroad for some more years then return to my first club.

"I spent two wonderful years at Slovan Liberec but I am from Prague, I have still my flat there and Sparta is my favourite team."

Taken from the Daily Record