New pitch is perfect platform to secure European football at Tynecastle
HEARTS head coach Ian Cathro has praised his club for performing emergency surgery on the terrible Tynecastle turf — and challenged his players to repay that faith by qualifying for the Europa League.
The Gorgie side had been planning to replace the surface this summer as part of a £12million redevelopment of the ground’s main stand.
But after a Scottish Cup stalemate with city rivals Hibernian and a 1-1 draw with the Premiership’s bottom side Inverness, owner Ann Budge confirmed a six-figure sum — believed to be in the region of £200,000 — will be invested to re-lay the turf in time for the visit of Ross County on March 1.
Teams that finish second and third in the Premiership qualify for the Europa League next season, although depending on who wins the Scottish Cup, fourth could also carry a European place.
Hearts currently sit in fourth, five points adrift of stuttering Rangers, and just one point ahead of fifth-placed St Johnstone.
And Cathro, whose side face a fifth-round replay against Hibs at Easter Road tomorrow night, hopes the new pitch at Tynecastle will aid his side’s bid to finish as high up the table as possible.
Asked if there was a fear that the shoddy surface could compromise the club’s ambitions of reaching Europe, Cathro said: ‘Of course, because it is more difficult on a poor pitch. You need to give the players the best possible chance.
‘We had reached the point where we had a problem with the pitch, but the club are now making a significant investment to address the situation.
‘It is in a tough time period with all the games we’ve got coming up, so to be able to act as quickly as we are doing is fantastic.
‘I can’t imagine many clubs would be in the position to do that and to have it ready for a week on Wednesday.
‘It’s another sign of the ambition, drive and determination of everybody at the club for us to be as good and as strong as we possibly can be.
‘One of the best things about this football club is that the people driving it really want to get better. We want to push and compete as high as possible.’
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is hoping to persuade his employers to invest over £1million in a new state-of-the-art Desso GrassMaster hybrid pitch to help take his team to the next level.
Hearts were also exploring the prospect of a hybrid surface and, despite the laying of the new turf, those big-spending plans could well be revisited 18 months down the line.
‘I would imagine so,’ said Cathro. ‘It won’t be cheap. But nothing is coming cheap with everything that is happening at the stadium just now.
‘It’s an incredible project and, at the end, we are going to be playing in a fantastic stadium.
‘We are fortunate that we have a club with good leadership and a club that is loved by thousands and thousands of people, which means we can do these things.
‘But I don’t feel added pressure to deliver. I feel the pressure to deliver regardless.’
Cathro believes tomorrow night’s Scottish Cup replay being played at Easter Road will suit his side because the surface in Leith is more conducive to good football than the one at Tynecastle.
‘A better quality pitch for a team that wants to play more organised football will always be a positive thing,’ he said.
‘We want to play football and, if the conditions are better, then that’s good.
‘I hope it is a better game than the first one. The first one was not an organised game of football. But we stayed strong and disciplined throughout and we were not defensively uncomfortable at any point in the match. We managed situations well. What we need to do this time is play better.
‘We hope the replay will be a good game. But, ultimately, we just need to win.’
Cathro has an injury doubt over striker Bjorn Johnsen after he took a knock against Inverness Caley Thistle on Saturday.
The Hearts head coach also sidestepped questions about Neil Lennon threatening to ‘throw in the kids’ or use 72-year-old Hibs legend Pat Stanton in the Edinburgh derby after a ‘disgraceful’ display in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Raith Rovers.
‘It’s up to Neil to make those decisions,’ he said.
But the Hearts head coach, who signed nine new players in January, believes his new-look side are more prepared for Hibs after the goalless first tie.
His team will still be practising penalties, with a home match against Championship strugglers Ayr United the reward for the replay victors.
‘One of the positives is we are now in a more informed position,’ he said.
‘It was a good first experience of the derby for some of the players. It means we know the opponent’s strengths, qualities and characteristics a bit better. That should aid us a little bit.
‘But we will be practising penalties because the game may go that far. If it does, we want to win — just as we want to win inside the 90 minutes.
‘This is cup football and there will be a winner on Wednesday night no matter what direction the game takes. And when that conclusion comes, we want to win.
‘Everybody knows what the next fixture would be if we win, but our focus is only on Hibs on Wednesday night.’
“It’s fantastic that the club has acted really quickly on this”