Hearts V Inverness CT at Tynecastle Stadium : Match Preview

04 December 2015 18:01
Hearts V Inverness CT - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.


Robbie Neilson: Decision to stay at Tynecastle is a huge boost for everyone

Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson believes the club's decision to stay at Tynecastle is a huge boost for everyone involved with the club.

Owner Ann Budge announced on Thursday that the club were well down the line in the process of designing a new main stand, which would increase the capacity at their ground.

Neilson played European games for Hearts at Murrayfield and found it lacking in the atmosphere that fans create in Gorgie.

He feels Hearts can continue moving forward on and off the field now that proposals of either moving to a new stadium or playing at the home of Scottish rugby have been put to bed.

"It's great," he told Hearts TV. "I played before at Murrayfield when we had to move. It's a totally different atmosphere and it was difficult to play in. It was nowhere near as good as Tynecastle.

"To be able to stay here and build a new stand and really develop the club and push forward is great news for everyone involved.

"There are a lot of hard games coming up and it starts against a team that finished third last season and won the Scottish Cup.

"It will be a really tough game for us and we have to make sure we are at it."

As popular as Tynecastle is with Neilson and the Hearts players, it might not be able to withstand the barrage of rain hitting Scotland ahead of the Ladbrokes Premiership fixture against Inverness.

A pitch inspection has been planned for 7.30am on Saturday after more rain was forecast to hit the already soggy pitch.

If the game goes ahead, third-placed Hearts will hope to have Billy King fit following a knee injury.

Alim Ozturk played half an hour for the under-20s in midweek but is unlikely to make his first-team comeback following hernia problems while Jamie Walker and Soufian El Hassnaoui are still not ready to play following knee problems.

Inverness will be missing Carl Tremarco, Ryan Christie, Aaron Doran, Dean Brill and Jordan Roberts but forward Dani Lopez returns from suspension.

Richie Foran is also nearing a return following knee problems but defender Gary Warren believes John Hughes' new contract is a huge motivating factor ahead of the trip to Edinburgh.

Caley Thistle are emerging from an injury crisis still within sight of the top six, sitting four points off it in eighth spot.

And with boss Hughes extending his contract by two years this week and players returning to action, Warren feels they can look up.

The Englishman, who has just returned from a broken leg, said: "It gives security for the rest of the club and the team. What we have produced over the last three or four years is now going to continue for the next two years.

"We have a few boys out of contract at the end of the season, so hopefully now the gaffer is tied up, the boys can start to think about their futures and they can get sorted out.

"Our standards are set very high here, the manager breeds that into us every day. The manager bangs the drum every day that our aim is to be a top-six club."


Source: PAR