Levein hopes De Vries can reclaim status as the king of Tynecastle

Tynecastle Stadium is supposed to be a neutral venue for the CIS Insurance Cup semi-final between Dundee United and Aberdeen, but Craig Levein is gambling on it being a lucky charm for Mark de Vries when the sides return to Edinburgh for tonight’s rearranged tie.

The Dutch striker scored four goals on his first appearance there for Heart of Midlothian, back in 2002. It was a 5-1 Edinburgh derby thrashing of Hibernian and the man in charge of Hearts was none other than Levein. So, you can hardly blame the Dundee United manager for trying to rekindle that old magic as he bids to lead his team into next month’s final against Rangers.

Fate has hardly been kind to Levein over the last week. The rain that left Tynecastle waterlogged for last Tuesday’s original semi-final encounter, also swept away Dundee United’s chance to utilise two key players before they were lost to the transfer window. The departures of Barry Robson to Celtic for £1.25million and Grzegorz Samotulski, the goalkeeper, have severely weakened the club.

Levein recruited De Vries from Leicester City � where he was also the Dutchman’s manager � and if the player has been restricted to just a few minutes as substitute, that could change tonight. Noel Hunt, United’s top scorer, is struggling with an knee injury, while Willo Flood, the former Manchester City midfield player, is doubtful. Hunt has scored 14 times this season but his ability to lead the line is valued even more by Levein. If the brother of Stephen Hunt, the Reading and Ireland winger, cannot play, then Levein will have no alternative but to turn to De Vries.

“The reason Mark hasn’t played up to now is because he is not fit,” Levein said. “He has not played since mid-November and is the type of lad who needs to be training and playing constantly. That’s why I have resisted the temptation to throw him in. He has done OK in the cameo appearances he has made though and is itching to play and while two weeks ago I would not have started him, it would not frighten me to do that now.”

Seven days ago, it was Aberdeen who had fitness problems. Now, it is United who are plagued. In addition to Hunt and Flood, Sean Dillon, the right back, and Morgaro Gomis, the French midfield player, will require fitness tests while recent acquisitions, Danny Swanson and Danny Grainger, are cup-tied.

“That’s football isn’t it,” Levein laughed. “This time last week we had more players and Aberdeen were struggling with a few injuries. These things happen in football and, as far as I am concerned, we still have the resources available to do the job.”

“Robson and Samotulski have gone and now I’ve one or two injuries to contend with but that’s how it goes. There’s no point worrying about it. I am fairly philosophical about the situation and confident players we do have are capable of getting us to the final. Noel has a knee injury. Of greater concern are Sean Dillon and Willo Flood who picked up ankle knocks at the weekend and are both struggling.That leaves us a bit short at right back because if Sean wasn’t playing there Willo would.”

At right back for Aberdeen will be another man who knows Tynecastle well � not to mention Levein and De Vries. Alan Maybury joined Aberdeen from Leicester last week. The Ireland player was recruited to the Coca-Cola Championship club in 2005 by Levein, who also brought Maybury to Hearts from Leeds United several seasons earlier.

However, Jamie Smith, the former Celtic player, whose two goals against FC Copenhagen in the Uefa Cup set up a glamorous meeting with Bayern Munich later this month, suffered a freak accident in training.

“We were doing some crossing and finishing,” said Jimmy Calderwood, the Aberdeen manager. “Jamie went to finish one but miskicked the ball. He felt something in his hamstring again and with all the games we have coming up, we can’t take any chances.

“Jamie has been a talisman for us in Europe and in certain games and I think I’ve said enough in weeks gone by about how important he is for us. When you saw our players’ faces as soon as it happened to Jamie, that’s how highly they rate him.”

Taken from timesonline.co.uk