Hearts' Euro hopes helped by Levein

COLLEEN PATERSON
HEARTS boss Csaba Laszlo today thanked Craig Levein after his Dundee United counterpart stepped in to help boost the Tynecastle team's chances of Europa League success.
The Edinburgh outfit's preparations for their qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb have been thrown into chaos by the decision to make them play United on Monday night due to ESPN television coverage, less than 24 hours before they are set to fly out to Croatia for the first leg of the tie.

Laszlo is concerned about the possibility of injury and stiff joints due to the short period of time available to them between the match and the flight, however, Levein has offered Hearts the use of Tannadice facilities for the players' recovery and warm down straight after the game.

And the Hearts manager, whose side face the prospect of gruelling matches against United, Zagreb and then Rangers in the space of six days, was quick to praise Levein for lending a helping hand when it was most needed.

He said: "I must say to Dundee United and their manager Craig Levein a very big thanks because he has given us permission to do our recovery work directly after Monday's match.

"He has allowed us to use their facilities directly after the match and that is fantastic.

"This is the relationship that I have talked about before and that I want.

"If Hearts play a bad game and go out of Europe against Dinamo Zagreb then that reflects on the whole of Scottish football, not just us. It is not just about a team when they play in Europe, it is also about a country. It is very important, you represent your country. We don't represent Germany or Great Britain, we are a Scottish team and we must do everything that we can to make sure that we play a successful game.

"We saw it with Scotland the other night against Norway. It's not just a team that loses a game, it is everything that is behind it. For me, it is very important to be successful.

"I was surprised that we were told to play on Monday night but we accept it. My programme is ready and we have to try to do the best we can. We have our plan, we play on Monday then we make our recovery right after the game. Tuesday we fly to Zagreb, Wednesday we have a meeting and training and then Thursday we have the game.

"I could talk for 20 hours about it but it won't change anything. We just have to get on with it and do our job."

Meanwhile, Hearts have teamed up with sports betting exchange website Betfair, who become the Edinburgh club's new online betting and gaming sponsor.

Hearts and Betfair have agreed a one-year deal with one-year option to include in-stadium branding, online presence, and supporter promotions.

Commercial manager Ross Easton said: "We are delighted to be announcing this new partnership with Betfair. In doing so, we've shown our ability to, once again, attract an outstanding calibre of commercial partner, universally known in the UK. We look forward to working with Betfair."

Taken from the Scotsman