Hearts stars can name their price with more quality performances, says skipper Christophe Berra

Chris Roberts

CHRISTOPHE BERRA insists his Hearts team-mates shouldn't worry about their wages being paid on time - because clubs throughout Europe will be queuing to sign them if they continue to scale the heights of the weekend.

Jambos players put the fact they had not been paid on Friday - for the second time this season - behind them to sink Rangers at Tynecastle.

But their skipper reckons they won't have to worry about fame or fortune in the future if they continue to produce the goods.

The stadium announcer revealed Manchester United gaffer Sir Alex Ferguson and England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce, thought to be running the rule over Andy Driver, were in attendance which might have given the players extra incentive to impress.

Even if they weren't, Berra reckons the main stand might just be full of watching scouts in future if they continue to topple the likes of Rangers.

He said: "When you go out there you have to put in a good performance. You have to prove it week in, week out.

"We have a young squad here and every player has got ambitions, you never know who is watching us.

"You have your pride and it shows we have a great team spirit, great character and we are all professional.

"The players were aware Ferguson and Pearce were here but as footballers you do your best and see what happens."

It was an extra special performance from Hearts because not many people would have put everything into their jobs after being told by their employers that their money wasn't there.

Berra believes the manner in which every Hearts player ignored the bad news at the cash point to produce their best result of the season so far said everything about the spirit in the Tynecastle dressing room.

The credit crunch is biting hard and the latest failure for the players to get their salaries shows football is far from immune to the problem.

Club owner Vladimir Romanov has promised his Jambos stars the delay in wages being paid is just a blip.

The men in maroon could have been forgiven for not believing him and letting Rangers walk all over them.

But boss Csaba Laszlo and Berra roused them to achieve a fine victory - even after being reduced to 10 men.

The skipper said: "That just proves the type of squad we have, the characters we have and how professional we are.

"Okay, we didn't get our money on Friday but we will get it on Monday.

"This has happened before. You are professional and if there were players that came here and had that on their mind then they are the players you don't want. Luckily we haven't got players like that.

"As soon as we cross that white line we want to get the three points no matter who we are playing and you can't use our lack of wages as an excuse.

"We are assured that everyone will get paid on Monday morning. It is not a concern for us."

Berra not surprisingly is attracting interest from admiring clubs and could have signed for Wolves in the summer had they upped their initial bid.

But the 21-year-old is loving life under Laszlo and has no plans to quit the club even if he doesn't get his wages on time.

Berra said: "If players do well then you are going to be the subject of speculation.

"There is no point dwelling on the past. The Wolves thing never happened and that is life.

"I am still here, I am 23 and I just want to keep improving as a player week in, week out.

"I am a professional and no matter who I play for in the future I will always give 110 per cent. It is in my character to try to be the best I can. If I make mistakes I am always disappointed with myself and I always try to improve on that.

"I could have done things better against Rangers. The best players are those who go to the highest level and still try to improve themselves.

"I am not for one minute saying I want to leave this club. I have been here for a long time and I am enjoying myself here."

Hearts won their fifth consecutive match to move within seven points of Walter Smith's men but Berra is refusing to look too far ahead.

The defender said: "We are not going to get carried away.

"We know we have quality players but Rangers have more strength in depth. It is always great to get a victory against the Old Firmand we will be back to work onMonday morning trying to concentrate on the Motherwell game.

"There is no easy game in this league.

Rangers went to St Mirren and lost, we went there and won so it doesn't mean anything.

"No matter who you play, they are going to work hard and make it very difficult for you.

"It is always sweet to beat the Old Firm but we will take it with a pinch of salt."

Berra was shocked by Rangers' long-ball tactics but he wasn't surprised the Jambos put the shackles on the Ibrox men.

The Scotland star said: "We stopped their key players and that was a big bonus for us, especially in the first half.

"They put a lot of long balls into the box because they had a lot of big players.

"Sometimes it caused us a few problems but we stayed solid as a team and got through it."

Taken from the Daily Record