Andy Halliday wants Hearts to turn Tynecastle into a 'fortress' as he targets a big result against Fiorentina in the capital.
Robbie Neilson's men welcome the Serie A outfit to Gorgie on Thursday as they return to Europa Conference League action. The home side go into this one second in the group and could move themselves five points clear of the Italians and in a commanding position. The Jambos won last time out in Riga against RFS to get off the mark in the section.
Halliday knows they are coming up against a 'great side' and Hearts will need to put in a top display to get a positive result. A sell-out Tynecastle can really generate an incredible atmosphere and the players will be looking to make the tight pitch work to their advantage in the matchday three showdown.
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Speaking in his pre-match media conference, he said: “It’s a big one for us; we’re 90 minutes away from getting a positive result. We’ve put ourselves in a good position within the group, but we’re well aware that we’re coming up against a fantastic football club with great tradition and great players.
“We’ve certainly done our due diligence on a great side, but we’re hoping that we can exploit some weaknesses as well. When you watch them; you can see that they’re a very brave team, both in and out of possession.
“For us to get a result, we know what we have to be on top of our own game. We’re going to focus on what we’re good at tomorrow night. The previous European matches against Zurich and Istanbul showed us that we can’t afford to make sloppy mistakes at this level of football.
“We implemented our plan a lot better in Riga. We now want to try and make our home pitch a fortress. It’s a tight pitch, and we know how they like to play, but we’re going to try and use it to our advantage as well."
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