ARE THE 'GLORIOUS HEARTS' BACK?

Gareth Friel

"Hearts, Hearts glorious Hearts" rang out with such gusto from the Tynecastle stands during and after the 2-1 win over Rangers that had you closed your eyes you could have been forgiven for thinking you had been transported back to 2005 and George Burley's reign.

Indeed, a look at the form book would suggest the same with Csaba Laszlo's side now boasting five wins in a row and just two goals conceded too.

The similarities end there. The current Hearts squad is nowhere near as strong as the one Burley had at his disposal with the likes of Craig Gordon, Steven Pressley, Andy Webster, Paul Hartley and Rudi Skacel, but the maroon half of Edinburgh don't care.

For the first time since the 2005-06 season, the pride is back at Tynecastle and for what they are lacking in natural talent, they more than make up for in hard work and organisation.

They may not be too pretty on the eye at the moment but those five wins in succession leave them only seven points behind Rangers in second place, the same number of points the Gers in turn trail Celtic by.

Talk of splitting the Old Firm may be extremely premature but it's a measure of what a good job Laszlo has done in his short spell in Edinburgh.

He appears to have been given a free reign by majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov and the fans are finally reaping the rewards.

Every player in the starting XI on Saturday lunchtime was at the club last season with David Obua's five-minute cameo off the bench the only sign of a Laszlo buy.

Once the euphoria of the win over Rangers died down, Laszlo will have reminded his players that finishing third is the aim for Hearts and they are going about it the right way by beating the teams who are likely to compete in the bottom six come the SPL split in April.

The four wins prior to the Rangers game came against Falkirk, Inverness, Hamilton and St Mirren - they type of matches they were dropping points in last season.

One potential downside of the upturn in form is the increased attention in skipper Christophe Berra. The Scotland defender was immense at the back against Kris Boyd and Jean-Claude Darcheville and managed to set up both Hearts goals from set-pieces.

Wolves may come back in for him in the January transfer window while the likes of Fulham and Feyenoord have also been mentioned in connection with the 23-year-old. Meanwhile, Andrew Driver has been linked with a number of Championship clubs following his impressive form.

Driver and Berra have been key players for the club for some time but Laszlo is now getting the best out of previous underachievers like Christian Nade (despite his lack of goals) while Marius Zaliukas seems to have nailed down his best position as a centre-half.

Laszlo has also added a new balance to the midfield, helped largely by Bruno Aguiar's return after 18 months on the sidelines through injury.

That there may be no room for Michael Stewart (who won a Scotland call-up thanks to his early season form) when he comes back from suspension speaks volumes.

But it's not just on the pitch Laszlo has made an impression. The Romanian comes across as a genuinely likeable guy and must be a journalist's dream as he somehow manages to give two or three minute answers to the simplest of questions.

He has undoubtedly added a bit of colour to the SPL off the field as well as on it and long may it continue.

Like every club January will be key and apart from keeping Berra and Driver, Laszlo will be on the lookout for a striker. Stewart is currently the club's top scorer with just three with main strikers Nade and Jamie Mole only netting one a-piece.

They have spread their 18 goals over 11 different goalscorers, but with Rangers likely to win almost every game at Ibrox and fourth-placed Dundee United possessing firepower in the shape of Jon Daly, Francisco Sandaza, Scott Robertson, Roy O'Donovan and Warren Feeney, Laszlo knows his side need a 10-goal frontman if they are to stay in third, or even challenge for second.

But that is for later. For now, the Jambos faithful are revelling in their best run of form for over three years.

"Follow the Hearts and you can't go wrong" they chant down Gorgie way and for once it can be sung with real meaning.

Taken from sportinglife.com