Respectful Bilek has Sparta ready for crunch with Hearts

MICHAL BILEK entered the Toyota Arena media centre flanked by Miroslav Matusovic, the scorer of Sparta Prague's second goal in Edinburgh. Emanating from both men was an aura of confidence, but never arrogance.

The Czech club, despite holding a potentially decisive two-goal advantage over Hearts ahead of tonight's UEFA Cup first round second leg, have been nothing less than thoroughly respectful towards their Scottish counterparts since the teams were paired together last month.

Bilek's assertion that Hearts may have underestimated the proficiency of his team in the first leg would seem to be backed up by the 2-0 scoreline at the halfway point of this tie. Yet Sparta's recently-appointed head coach had no wish to gloat as he addressed an assembly of Scottish and Czech media.

"I am totally positive that we are going to play a completely different Hearts tonight," said Bilek. "We managed to play the game absolutely perfectly two weeks ago and were perhaps even better than we expected. At the same time, Hearts may have underestimated us slightly.

"I think it was pretty obvious that Hearts wanted to get through to the Champions League groups and, after the failure in Athens, I think they maybe underestimated us. We ended up dominating the game in Edinburgh.

"I am sure that Hearts will play pretty aggressively here and they will certainly want to score a goal quickly to make it interesting enough."

Sparta's own failure to qualify for the Champions League last season, coupled with an inauspicious start to the current campaign, ironically made a significant contribution to Bilek returning to Prague's Letna district, which houses the Toyota Arena. When Stanislav Griga was dismissed as head coach there earlier this month, the balding former Czech internationalist Bilek was instantly summoned from Viktoria Pilzen as his approved replacement.

The Czech public will enjoy a national holiday here tomorrow in remembrance of the death of St Wenceslas but, for the Sparta squad, there will be no respite from striving to fulfil the ambitions of their board. Like Hearts, the Champions League was the club's primary aim and, having been diverted to the UEFA Cup, there is now no margin for error.

"All we are thinking about is making it through to the next stage, although we are aware that this will be a very different match," said the focused Bilek. "We are going to play aggressively and be pro-active." Sparta's attacking instincts are likely to be propelled by a particularly offensive midfield quartet comprising Frenchman Ludovic Sylvestre and Czechs Jan Simak, Daniel Kolar and Matusovic.

"We do have a psychological advantage but we will not be thinking only about defence," continued Bilek. "We want to score a goal as early as possible. At the same time, one of our aims is not to concede any goals at all. Hearts, after two good results in their league, are back to good form and we certainly won't be underestimating them. Hearts certainly have very good offensive power. Roman Bednar and Mauricio Pinilla are very good players and, if we give them space, they are likely to score from various positions. We must be on guard tomorrow and make sure we eliminate this threat."

Vladimir Romanov's proclamation that Sparta Prague carried out a series of physical attacks on his players in the first leg brought a wry smile to the face of Bilek when prompted for his thoughts on the subject. Creditably, and with all of his trademark diplomacy, the Czech refused to issue a prickly retort at Hearts' majority shareholder.

"We knew before we travelled to Edinburgh that it would be a very tough game and, if we wanted to succeed, we needed to be as tough as them," he said. "Although the game was tough, I believe it was fair."

Matusovic, a diminutive attacker, revealed a desire earlier this week to defect to Britain in later years to elevate his career onto a higher plain. The 25-year-old admitted to a hankering for playing in either Scotland or England and, on the evidence of his first-leg intervention from the substitute's bench, would appear to represent the kind of sound investment that many in the SPL are searching for.

"My personal ambitions are not specifically aimed at Scotland but, if there was any attractive offer from there, I would not be against the possibility of moving there," said Matusovic. "To be honest I am not thinking about such things at the moment because my focus is on tomorrow's match."

Respectful and dignified from start to finish, Sparta Prague shouldn't be expected to divert from that stance should they polish Hearts off tomorrow. Then again, unexpected defeat can prompt strange reactions from football players and coaches. Such a scenario is precisely what Hearts are here to achieve.

Taken from the Scotsman