I need to quit Hearts for sake of my career, admits Christophe Berra

Jan 27 2009 By John Gardner

HEARTS skipper Christophe Berra has admitted he will have to leave Scotland to further his career.

The 23-year-old defender has revealed he would love to test himself against the best players in the world - and reckons that's not possible while playing in the SPL.

Everton, Fulham and Sunderland are keeping tabs on the Scotland defender, while at least two clubs in Europe have asked Hearts to be kept informed of the situation.

Celtic may also see the £3million-rated centre-half as a possible replacement for Stephen McManus if the Hoops skipper quits Parkhead.

And Berra said: "I've never hidden the fact I have aspirations to go to play at the highest level. If an opportunity did come I'd like to think the club would give me that chance.

"The SPL is a good league and Hearts are a great club, a big club, but there are bigger clubs and bigger leagues in the world.

"If you want to prove yourself against the best you've got to take that chance. If it did come up I would like to go.

"There's a week to go in the transfer window but it's not down to me really.

There's a lot of speculation. It depends if a club makes a bid for me and whether it gets accepted. If it does, we'll see what happens.

"At the moment I'm at Hearts and I'm still giving 110 per cent. I still want to improve. I'll be glad when the window closes to be honest because I'll know where I am, whether I'm still here or away.

"If I'm still here it won't affect me one little bit, I'll still give everything for this club and for the manager. It's not in my hands, it's down to people at other clubs if they want to make an offer and Mr Romanov if he accepts."

Hearts' win over Inverness at the weekend was their third in a row. And Berra reckons the recent run of good results proves the transfer talk is not unsettling any of the players at the club.

He said: "I heard people saying after the Motherwell defeat that maybe the speculation was affecting a few Hearts players. I don't think that's true.

"We didn't play well at Fir Park, it was one of those nights, but we bounced back and beat Hibs.

"I don't think the speculation has affected any of the players.

"If it starts to affect you people will notice."

Boss Csaba Laszlo has admitted he has a contingency plan if the club sell Berra, with Falkirk captain Darren Barr being eyed by the Hearts gaffer.

The defender is aware of the interest, although he insists his mind is fully focused on tonight's Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden.

Barr said: "I've heard the speculation about my future but I'm taking it all with apinch of salt.

"I've still got a lot to learn and playing here is still a challenge.

"At the present time my focus is all on Falkirk. I want to get on with things here and progress at this club."

Taken from the Daily Record