Hearts ready for 'horrible' Morton match amid Dougie Imrie's 'luxury' claims

Grant has experience of difficult venues in England and is primed for whatever Cappielow throws at him

Hearts midfielder Jorge Grant is braced for a “horrible” encounter in Greenock and dismissed suggestions he will be in for a culture shock at Cappielow.

Morton manager Dougie Imrie claimed the Hearts players would not enjoy the small changing rooms and other infrastructure at his club’s ground on Monday given they are used to “luxury”. But Grant believes he knows what to expect given his experience of playing for the likes of Notts County, Mansfield, Luton and Lincoln in England’s bottom two divisions.

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The 29-year-old said ahead of Monday’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-final: “I have played in the lower leagues in England and it’s all like that anyway. It’s probably not going to be a culture shock to me but it might be to some others. But we wouldn’t expect anything less, you would expect it to be a horrible game and they are going to try and get on top of us and make it difficult for us. That’s what a cup tie is about. We just have to deal with it. We have watched loads of them in the last few days. It’s important that we do our homework on them and make sure we are ready for what comes. We know what they can bring but it’s more about us and what we do – how we deal with what they have but also bring our own game.”

Jorge Grant and Hearts travel to Greenock on Monday night to take on Morton in the Scottish Cup.Jorge Grant and Hearts travel to Greenock on Monday night to take on Morton in the Scottish Cup.
Jorge Grant and Hearts travel to Greenock on Monday night to take on Morton in the Scottish Cup.

Hearts have already negotiated two away fixtures against Spartans and Airdrie in the competition. And Grant is confident they can deal with the pressure and expectations of being firm favourites. Grant, who also played in the Championship with Nottingham Forest and Peterborough, said: “We can take confidence from that. In the past rounds we have gone away to places and won the games and we will try and do that again. Pressure comes from playing with this club. There is pressure to get third in the league, get closer to the Old Firm, win trophies. It’s important that pressure doesn’t affect us and we we deal with it. I feel this season we have dealt with it really well and hopefully that continues.”

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