No winter trip for humbled Hearts players
Humbled Hearts players put their plans for a Christmas trip to Prague on ice after Friday night’s hammering at Livingston.
A late collapse at the Tony Macaroni Arena saw the Jam Tarts ship five goals, sparking fury amongst the sizeable travelling support.
Manager Craig Levein declared the result embarrassing, while striker Steven MacLean admitted he and his teammates had “chucked it”.
As a result, the players’ planned festive trip to the Czech capital – scheduled for yesterday – was cancelled.
It is understood the squad made the decision to call off their plans themselves in the wake of Friday night’s shattering defeat.
Instead, they will remain at the Jam Tarts’ Riccarton training base in preparation for next weekend’s clash with Aberdeen.
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Eintracht Frankfurt captain Marco Russ has revealed he’s desperate to get Celtic in tomorrow’s Europa League draw.
The Hoops are unseeded in the Last 32 draw in Switzerland and can be paired with a host of big guns including Arsenal, Chelsea and Inter Milan.
They can also get Bundesliga side Eintracht, who took 9,000 fans to Rome in midweek for their Europa League win against Lazio in a match marred by serious riots between the German fans and Italian police.
And veteran defender Russ has admitted he’s targeted a trip to Scotland for the next round.
He said: “My dream would be to be drawn with Celtic in the next round.
“I want to play in an atmospheric stadium and to play in Glasgow at Celtic Park would be fantastic.
“It would be great to play there. I once played in Istanbul against Fenerbahce and I couldn’t hear my central defensive partner speak to me.
“I am told Celtic is like that or even louder.
“Whoever we end up playing, we have to be confident. We won six games out of six in our group and we won’t fear anyone.”