Pressley believes spirit has returned to Hearts

SINCE letting themselves down badly at home a fortnight ago, winning on the road has become a habit for Hearts. True, victories in Motherwell, Alloa and Aberdeen are neither so exotic nor as hard to come by as a win in the Toyota Arena here in the Czech Republic, but the crucial thing is that last season's SPL runners-up have picked themselves up when they had to. We should find out tonight exactly how well they have bounced back from the nadir of Murrayfield two weeks ago, when they lost 2-0 to Sparta Prague and thus left themselves needing to score three tonight. It will be tough, but, especially after coming off the ropes at Pittodrie to record a 3-1 win, the Hearts squad are at least cautiously hopeful of shocking their opponents.

"To say we are underdogs to progress is an understatement," Steven Pressley admitted. "[But] I think we have an opportunity, we really do, and there is no doubt if we score they will become very nervous. I think we're capable of that, and I thought on Sunday [against Aberdeen] we showed a lot of the qualities that are required for this particular game. We showed great resilience when we were up against it in the first half and then showed our quality in terms of counter-attacking football. We must take a lot of confidence from that."

Hearts were poor in their previous match at Murrayfield, the Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens. But they did at least put in some effort, and were undone by a more skilful side. The fundamental disappointment against Sparta was the lack of heart.

Pressley himself declared that unacceptable, telling his team-mates so in the dressing-room immediately afterwards. Just in case the captain's words needed reinforcing, the club's owner, Vladimir Romanov, then addressed the squad the following day with a few choice observations of his own. Between them, the two rebukes have appeared to do the trick. "There was a discussion after the first leg, and we all responded in the right manner," he recalled. "For the first time in 18 months there were questions being asked of the team, and we've come up with the right answers.

"From my time at the club, the first leg was possibly the most disappointing European tie I have been involved in. You come to expect from a Hearts side that they are very aggressive and have a physical approach to the game, but we never achieved that in the first leg. It was bitterly disappointing, but we have improved since then.

"We received some criticism and quite rightly so for that performance, but we've responded in the best possible manner with three consecutive victories. We're in good form and full of confidence.

"There were a few words said, and I think one of the keys is that we've very much stayed together as a team, and I think we emphasised that at the end of the Motherwell game, that we have a good spirit and we are a good team. We got back to doing the ugly things in the game, which is working very hard. I watched Celtic last night, and that's the one thing that very much impressed me - they've got very capable players in terms of opening teams up, and these players worked very hard for the team. Team spirit and also the work rate of the team was key to our success last year, as well as some outstanding individual performances.

"What I think is fantastic is that we responded so well from the first leg. We could have been on a slippery slope, but we showed our character. I said after that game that we need some big characters over the weeks ahead, and I think we have proven that we have these within the dressing room, which must be very encouraging for Valdas [Ivanauskas, the head coach]."

Hearts need to find a nice balance this evening between eagerness and patience. On the one hand, they went 64 minutes before scoring against Aberdeen, yet still got a result which if replicated would take them through tonight. On the other, they cannot afford to concede again, and thus will feel obliged to press Sparta from the start.

"We have to be aggressive, but the interesting thing is going to be the way they will approach the game," Pressley continued. "Will they come out and try to finish the tie, or will they sit in and look to counter-attack? I don't think we have anything to lose, and it will make for an interesting game. But I do believe that goals change games, and we have the quality of Paul [Hartley] back in terms of set plays. That could prove to be the key for us.

The other complicating factor for Hearts as they seek a balance between patience and positivity is their poor disciplinary record. Having collected six red cards so far this season, they should know from recent, bitter experience that steaming in can be counter-productive. "I often talk about aggression, but it has to be controlled," Pressley added. "You must influence the game in a positive manner." The centre-back himself is a good example of how to be fiercely competitive without losing one's head, and if Hearts are even to come close to going through to the group stages tonight his more impetuous team-mates will have to follow his example.

With those three wins under their belts since the first-leg loss, Hearts have at least dispelled the talk of crisis. One look at the league table, where they lie in second, just three points behind Celtic, does suggest that they must be doing something right.

"What's fantastic is that we are still in the hunt after such a demanding start," Pressley said. "We should be proud of that. Without playing to the levels I believe we played to last season, we have ground out a lot of results."

That is so, as was exemplified by the 1-0 win at Fir Park. But it is hard to see Pressley and his colleagues grinding out a 3-1 or 4-2 win tonight. If they are going to claim what would be a remarkable aggregate win, they will need magic as much as the mundane, and wizardry as well as workmanship.

Taken from the Scotsman