BERRA RETURN GIVES US HEART
NO CHANCE OF A CANDEIAS
FOOTBALL is played on grass, not paper, but Craig Levein knows he can strike an early blow against Rangers tomorrow with just one scrawl of the pen on his teamsheet.
The return of captain Christophe Berra offers a much-needed psychological boost to a Hearts team winless in five games.
That slide which saw the Jambos fall from runaway leaders to third has inevitably prompted talk of the bubble bursting on Gorgie amid a catalogue of injuries, Berra among the most damaging.
The loss of the skipper to a hamstring injury in only the second league game of the season against Celtic robbed Levein of more than just the lynchpin of his defence.
He said: “Getting him back, even having him on the teamsheet, is a boost for everybody. His leadership qualities are renowned. So he is important to us.
“He has a presence and aura that helps us.
“And maybe the opposition also look at the teamsheet and think, ‘Oh right, he’s back.’”
Having come through 45 minutes of a friendly against Linlithgow Rose on Wednesday the 33-year-old has so far shown no after-effects that would rule him out of the Gers clash.
And with defender Jimmy BY EUAN McLEAN Dunne a doubt having rolled his ankle in training this week the timing of Berra’s comeback could hardly be better.
Levein added: “He was good the other night. We toyed with not playing him just because of how slippery the pitch was. But he got through it.
“I want to wait and watch before I make a final decision, see how he feels as well.
“As an experienced player he’ll know how near he is to full fitness. He’s three or four weeks ahead of schedule in his recovery time.
“We’ve had a frustrating run and some were games we should have won but didn’t. The only real bad one was at St Mirren last weekend.
“It’s important we bounce back from that. This game will be a sellout, the atmosphere will be fantastic and it’s the kind of game I want after the result last week.”
Aussie kid Ben Garuccio will be glad to welcome back Berra even though it means he’ll be getting his ear bent again by the biggest moaner in the dressing room.
Garuccio said: “A lot of the boys would agree he’s a moaner but it’s a good sort of moan. It’s not personal.
“He wants everyone doing their jobs and if you’re not you’ll hear about it. It’s helpful.” FROM BACK PAGE at Rapid Vienna after being sent off for two yellow cards against Villarreal on Thursday.
Rangers are still considering their options but UEFA are only up for a U-turn on cautions if it’s a case of mistaken identity.
Candeias appeared to pick up his second booking for going in too heavily on Santiago Caseres but it’s understood Slovenian referee Matej Jug ruled he was guilty of unsporting behaviour.
Gerrard said: “I feel for Daniel, it was quite harsh. We had three defenders around the Villarreal player, pressing and hunting in packs which is what we want.
“One of the three was guilty of a foul but I’m not sure any of them was guilty of a yellow card. I don’t see any unsporting behaviour. I see a foul and I get why the referee gave it but I can’t understand a yellow card. I don’t see my players have done anything wrong.
“We feel a little hard done by but it is what it is and we move on. We’re analysing the incident but I’m not sure we can appeal.
“I’ll speak to our powers that be and see if there’s a situation if