Hearts star says Jambos can Drive Gers mad again

BARRY ANDERSON
ANDY DRIVER has a reputation as a scorer of spectacular goals, witness last weekend's events at Tynecastle. Tap-ins simply aren't the Englishman's bag when the chance arises for a raking long-ranger or typical solo effort.
Rangers visit Gorgie for a 12.30pm kick-off this Saturday, and last time they did so Allan McGregor was picking a Driver special out of his net before the clock had even ticked past 12.45. That volley in September 2007, along with a free-kick at Celt ic Park and Saturday's mazy run and finish against Falkirk, represent his finest moments in a maroon shirt.

"That day against Rangers was a good memory," he said. "We went into the game with everyone against us. We'd lost a few games beforehand and nobody gave us a chance.

"We went away for a week (to Palanga, Lithuania] and came back absolutely buzzing.

"I can still remember the goal going in and it's a great memory. That whole day was brilliant, the fans were great and the atmosphere was unbelievable.

"We really got in about them and thoroughly deserved to beat them 4-2.

"I'd give anything for a win this weekend. All the boys just want to get into Europe now. I don't think we believed (that could happen] ourselves at the start of the season but now we see it as a possibility and we're getting more confident.

"Going into the Rangers game is a no-lose situation. We have a bit more expectation and can put a better effort in this time.

"If we lose it's, 'well, we got beaten by Rangers' but, if we give a good show then, with the positives that come out of that, we'll be absolutely flying.

"The confidence we'd get out of that would really show us we can kick on for the rest of the season."

A natural consequence of Hearts' recent run of four consecutive victories is that confidence levels at the club's Riccarton training base are higher than they have been for some time. This is perfectly exemplified by Driver's initiative when scoring last weekend's winning goal.

He dribbled past three opponents before rounding goalkeeper Scott Flinders for a goal which manager Csaba Laszlo mentioned in comparison to Diego Maradona's second against England in 1986.

"When I first came into the team, if I scored a goal I wouldn't be able to sleep. I've kind of got used to it now," said the player.

"My dad said it was a good goal and if he says that it must be all right because he says I'm rubbish whatever happens."

Driver isn't naive enough to wallow in past personal glories, though, however memorable they might be.

Goals against Rangers are cherished commodities no matter how they arrive and anything garnered by Hearts on Saturday will arrive as a result of the teamwork which has facilitated their recent winning run. In particular, the players now appear content with Laszlo's 4-4-1-1 formation.

Many supporters have been wary of the Hungarian's tactics, fearing a lone striker is not conducive to attacking, entertaining football. Driver sees only positives, though, and acclaimed the formation as a personal favourite.

"We've proved with 4-4-1-1 we can create chances and score goals. Not as many as we should do, keeping it tight at the back and snatching the odd goal isn't pretty to watch, but we're third in the league.

"Anyone who wants Hearts to do well won't be bothered. If you're third in the league, you need to sweep it under the carpet a bit.

"I definitely get more opportunity to get forward so it's a good position for me.

"For the wide players and Bruno it's good because you need to get forward and offer support, so it's great having that freedom. The big plus in recent weeks is we've had Chris (Nade] playing, who holds it up and gives you loads of time to get up there.

"I don't see it as a negative formation, I'd say it's attacking because when you're going forward it becomes 4-2-4. Bruno is up there with Chris, plus the two wide men.

"We've never played as badly as we have and still won four in a row before. I think that shows the spirit in the team. There's still room for a lot more improvement, but even without that we are still getting the wins.

"We're getting 1-0 wins and 2-1, whereas before we weren't getting those. Against Falkirk last week, we'd have drawn or lost. When they went 1-0 up we'd have struggled. I think we've got something about us this year.

"Everyone says we have a huge squad but I'd say we have a small squad this season. That has definitely brought the team together.

"No-one wants to get injured, no-one can be complacent because they could lose their place. If that happens and the team keeps winning, you don't want to mess with a winning formula."

There is a willingness within the Hearts squad ahead of Rangers' visit to atone for previous sub-standard efforts against both halves of the Old Firm this season.

"We let ourselves down last time we played Celtic at home, really let ourselves down," said Driver. "We go into this game really needing to prove something.

"We've started getting more consistent results against other teams, now we have to take something from Rangers.

"We lost 2-0 against them at Ibrox at the start of the season but I think we could have got something out of the game, even just a goal. I don't think it was a 2-0 result."

Given the intimidating reception usually meted out to Old Firm sides at Tynecastle, Rangers could be forgiven for harbouring a certain wariness ahead of their trip to Edinburgh. Last season's 4-2 thumping will still be fresh in the minds of Walter Smith and his players and Driver hopes the Hearts faithful are similarly vocal on Saturday.

"Anyone who comes to Tynecastle has to be a bit wary," he said. "Even if our team is playing poorly, when we're at Tynecastle with the fans behind us we will always be a hard team to beat. Even if we were bottom of the league, Tynecastle would still be a hard place to go."

Taken from the Scotsman