CSABA LASZLO admitted today he'd love to repay the Hearts fans for their backing by bringing the Co-operative Insurance Cup to Tynecastle this season.
• Christian Nade goes close with the scores levelThe Gorgie team booked their place in the semi-finals with a 1-0 victory
over Celtic at Parkhead last night, thanks to a second-half penalty converted by captain Michael Stewart.
They now face either Rangers, St Johnstone or St Mirren next month and, with fans becoming despondent having seen their side struggle in the opening weeks of the league season, coupled with a heavy defeat away from home in the Europa League qualifiers against Dinamo Zagreb, Laszlo is keen to give something back to the supporters.
He said: "We now have to look to the next game and if we can get past that into the final then anything is possible. It is very important for us to do well for our supporters because last year we went out very early in the cup competitions.
• Celtic's Danny Fox brings down Nade - penalty to Hearts"To win at Celtic Park is a huge performance from this young team, especially because the last time we lost 2-1.
"The team last night was better and more concentrated, it was a typical cup tie. There was also some luck but I think that was also for Celtic. Our last game was a draw against Falkirk and some of the fans were unhappy with our performance, also in Zagreb we had maybe 2000 supporters over there and they were very sad at the end of the game because we lost 4-0, but still they applauded at the end.
"I think the fans must understand that we are not machines, we are also humans and you can also sometime have a bad day."
Laszlo insisted that he would be more than happy to work alongside Ivan Svabovic if the Lithuanian is confirmed as the Tynecastle club's new sport director.
• Captain Michael Stewart scores from the spotSvabovic is believed to have been introduced to the players by owner Vladimir Romanov at an hour-long meeting at the Gorgie ground on Tuesday afternoon. And Laszlo stressed that he was delighted to get the chance to talk face to face with Romanov, adding: "If the club like to take a sport director then he is welcome, I don't have any problem with that. I have so much work right now that I may need three sport directors! If we only have one then I am also happy with that."
Meanwhile, Hearts captain Michael Stewart insisted there was never any chance of him sitting out the 1-0 victory at Parkhead despite being jeered by his own supporters in the game against Falkirk last weekend. The midfielder passed a late fitness test on an ankle injury to make the starting line-up and stroked home the penalty which won the match for the Jambos.
• Celtic captain Stephen McManus is sent off for a foul on Andrew DriverHe said: "There wasn't any question of me sitting the game out. These things happen in football and things can turn around very quickly and that's what happened last night. We're into the semi-finals and now have a fantastic opportunity of getting into a final and, after that, it's anyone's guess as to what can happen. I think a good cup run would really give us a boost of confidence and let us look at the positives. The possibility of getting to a cup final is a great incentive for everybody to aim towards.
"I think that we stuck together as a team and created a lot of chances, like we have in previous games, but thankfully we got a slice of luck and managed to hold out for the win. There wasn't much difference between last night and other performances, just that the ball went in the back of the net.
Match pictures by Ian Rutherford
