Hearts winger Driver ready for battle with old Gorgie allies

Colleen Paterson
ANDREW DRIVER and a few of his Hearts team-mates played alongside Steven Pressley for long enough to know that their former captain won't let Falkirk go down without a fight.
So while the Bairns may be propping up the SPL table right now, the Tynecastle winger insisted that there's no danger of Hearts underestimating their opponents this weekend.

John Hughes' side currently sit at the bottom of the league, four points adrift of nearest rivals Inverness and St Mirren with just six league matches remaining to rescue them from relegation.

With just one win from their last eight league fixtures, time appears to be running out for Falkirk but, having lost to them on two occasions already this season, Driver warned that league position counts for nothing at this stage.

And, knowing the likes of Pressley and Neil McCann, he's well aware of how determined his old buddies will be to keep their side in the top division.

He said: "Obviously we all know Neil and Elvis really quite well and I think that makes it even more surprising for everyone to see Falkirk sitting down at the bottom end of the table. When you look at the number of good players that they have in their side I think that it just shows you how tight this league is becoming.

"The top teams and the bottom teams can all beat one another but it has tended to be Falkirk – who can play a lot of good football – who have ended up down there on more occasions than the rest.

"We'll see this weekend if they keep playing that good, flowing type of football or whether they change things around a bit and take more of a direct approach to try to get the three points."

With the Bairns scrapping to stay in the division, Driver reckons they will be even more dangerous than usual.

While they have no worries over relegation, however, points are just as vital to Hearts at the other end of the table in their quest to make it into the Europa League next season. He said: "We are playing well right now and feeling confident that we can go there and get all three points but it's one of those end-of-season games which is just massive for both sides.

"We want the points to help us get into Europe and they need the points to try to keep themselves in the division. It's all about who wants it most.

"They have beaten us in the league and knocked us out of the cup already this season so they have shown this year that they can be a good team.

"And I think we have always found going over there very hard – in fact I can hardly remember us beating them at their ground.

"That is a massive incentive for us to go there and get something out of the game – as is getting enough points on the table to make it into the Europa League."

Aberdeen and Dundee United currently sit five points behind the Tynecastle outfit and Driver admits that there's not much room for manoeuvre at the moment. He said: "The way results went last weekend, the two teams right behind us in the table gained a couple of points on us so we know that there's not much room for error.

"We just have to try to keep getting the points on the board and taking it from there. There is no way we can rest on our laurels because Dundee United and Aberdeen have got a lot to fight for as well and it is not going to come easy to us.

"It would be massive if we managed to qualify for Europe for next season, especially because we haven't been involved this time around.

"I was lucky enough to have the experience of travelling with the squad to Greece when they qualified for the Champions League a couple of years ago.

"It is huge for everyone involved, the players and the fans. You look forward to playing at that kind of level, it's where every player wants to be and every supporter wants their club to be. It would give everyone a real focus and something to look forward to."

Taken from the Scotsman