They ceded a 4-2 advantage to lose 5-4 against Dundee United last week in front of their own fans. “Embarrassing, disgraceful, disgusting and appalling” was the manager’s verdict.Butcher has worked wonders at Fir Park on scant resources, leading them to a sixth-placed finish last season, and in fact Motherwell’s recent record against Hearts is superb [...]
They ceded a 4-2 advantage to lose 5-4 against Dundee United last week in front of their own fans. “Embarrassing, disgraceful, disgusting and appalling” was the manager’s verdict.Butcher has worked wonders at Fir Park on scant resources, leading them to a sixth-placed finish last season, and in fact Motherwell’s recent record against Hearts is superb – they took 10 points from four league meetings last season.The game today will be the first time that Burley and Butcher, who played together under Bobby Robson at Ipswich, have met as managers. And Burley will be facing a club for which he formerly played. The number of Hearts fans in the ground will outnumber those at any game in the past 10 years. Such is the demand at Tynecastle that home supporters will occupy 15,500 seats, leaving 1,400 for the visitors.Butcher said yesterday that his team was “looking forward to causing an upset” in what he believes will be “an old-fashioned British battle even though [Hearts] haven’t got that many British players now”.That last observation is not entirely accurate. While Burley has imported five foreigners over the summer, his goalkeeper, Craig Gordon, the centre-halves Steven Pressley and Andy Webster and playmaker, Paul Hartley, are all Scottish internationals.
Another home-grown youngster to watch is the 18-year-old Calum Elliot, who may start if the Czech striker, Roman Bednar, has failed to recover from a hamstring strain.Burley has already masterminded one emphatic win over a former Ipswich colleague this season, when Hearts thrashed Tony Mowbray’s Hibernian 4-0 in the Edinburgh derby.Hibs travel to Ibrox today, a venue where they have not won since September 1995. Rangers will be looking for a third victory in eight days following the 3-1 Old Firm success and the 2-0 midweek European win over Famagusta of Cyprus.Celtic’s next assignment comes at Dunfermline tomorrow. Gordon Strachan will be without their captain Neil Lennon, and Alan Thompson – who were both red-carded last weekend. Didier Agathe could play his first game of the season following injury..
Luke Donald carded an “easy-going” 65 to share the lead at the halfway stage of the BMW International Open here yesterday. Donald hit seven birdies and no bogeys in a flawless second round at Nord-Eichenried, narrowly missing a 10ft eagle putt on the last to claim the outright lead. Leeds’ potential match-winner in today’s Powergen Challenge Cup final is part of a queue of players on their way out of Headingley. One effect of moving the showpiece to later in the season is that it is unusually full of players who know they will not be with their present club next year.
Of the Rhinos’ team playing at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff today, Barrie McDermott is retiring and going on to the coaching staff, Andrew Dunemann is going home to Australia and Chris McKenna and Marcus Bai are widely expected to join Bradford.Nobody’s departure is as messy, however, as that of Mark Calderwood.When you are the most prolific try-scorer in Super League – he has 31 in all competitions this season – you tend to develop a strong idea of your value.Unfortunately, when it came to negotiating a new contract at Leeds, the club’s valuation did not coincide with his own. After six weeks of sitting on the first and final offer, he was told that he could go and he will be with Wigan next season.”I’ll be putting that out of my mind,” he promises, carefully saying all the right things. “Whatever has happened at Leeds, I’ll be doing my best and I’ll be fully focused on Leeds until the end of the season.
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