Battle for European places trumps cup final – for now, says Gary Locke

NEXT month’s Scottish Cup final will have many Hearts supporters gripped by excitement every day between now and 19 May, but the club’s coaching staff have insisted that the players concentrate fully on the five remaining league games before turning their attention to the Hampden showdown with Hibernian.

Just a point behind Dundee United and two adrift of St Johnstone, who meet tomorrow lunchtime, Hearts will go fourth if they beat Rangers and the match at McDiarmid Park is a draw. If Motherwell then lose to Celtic on Sunday, Paulo Sergio’s team will then be only five points off a third-place finish – something which, not too long ago, looked like a forlorn hope.

And the race for a higher league finish is about more than academic interest or professional pride. There are European places still to be played for, and Hearts can ensure themselves of continental competition next season, even before the cup final offers another means of entry into the Europa League.

For first-team coach Gary Locke, it has therefore been relatively easy to persuade the players to put the cup to the back of their minds, and to concentrate on the post-split campaign.

The squad were understandably euphoric after their 2-1 semi-final victory over Celtic last Sunday, but Locke believes they are now more than ready to return their attention to the league campaign.

“It’s been an exciting week, but last week has gone and now we have to look forward to Rangers and what is going to be another difficult game,” he said yesterday.

“We said at the start of the week that the final is a month away and it will take care of itself.

“When you go into the last five or six games of the season you are hoping you’re involved in the race for Europe – that’s our aim as a club – and have a decent cup run. We’ve managed to do both and we now have massive games coming up and we want to win them.

“The five league games are huge for us, we’re not far behind Dundee United or St Johnstone, so our aim is to catch these teams. They play each other at the weekend and they can’t both win, so it is a possibility for us to climb the table. That’s what our focus has been on this week.”

Hearts’ taste of European football this season was a bittersweet one. They beat Paksi of Hungary comfortably enough in their first outing, with Sergio replacing Jim Jefferies as manager between the two legs, but they were then beaten 5-0 at home by Tottenham Hotspur before drawing the return leg in London with a commendably spirited display.

No matter the disappointment of that Spurs defeat, Locke is sure that the experience of playing in Europe left the squad anxious for more games against that calibre of opposition.

“It’s been a rollercoaster season and, if you ask the players – although the first leg against Spurs was disappointing – the majority of them will say the highlight was the trip to White Hart Lane.

“The experience of playing against world-class players is why people come to Hearts, because they know they will hopefully get that opportunity. If we can get into Europe through our league campaign then it has been a fantastic campaign for us.

“It’s certainly whetted my appetite for more, and the players’ too. We all loved the build-up and the occasion itself, and it’s something we want to be involved in next season as well.

“Let’s be honest, there was a big gulf between the sides. They pay millions for their players and that is something we can’t, but when you play against the best players you want to prove yourself and do well against them. I think our players have improved from that and they will be looking to play in that arena again next season.”

Should Hearts qualify for Europe, the prospects of them still being under Sergio’s leadership improved this week with news that the Portuguese manager has begun discussions with the club about a new contract. Locke, who began his coaching career as a protege of Jefferies and his No 2 Billy Brown, is keen for the current boss to agree a new deal.

“I don’t know what the situation for Sergio is but, from a personal point of view, I hope he stays,” he said. “I can only hope he gets things sorted out and is here next season.

“He’s completely different to Jim and Billy, but his attention to detail is just first class. He knows everything about the game, tactically he is magnificent and he has proved to everyone over the course of this season just how good he is. I feel I am learning all the time, not just from Billy and Jim now, but from Paulo – it’s a completely different way of doing things and it will help me in the future.”