CAPTAIN Christophe Berra is looking for Hearts to capitalise on their belated return to Tynecastle.
The Jambos had to reverse some fixtures and play four ‘home’ games at BT Murrayfield in Edinburgh while their main stand was being refurbished.
After much uncertainty, and to the consternation of opponents Partick Thistle, a safety certificate was granted on Sunday morning before the first Ladbrokes Premiership game of the season in Gorgie, albeit the homecoming was spoiled by the Jags who left with a 1-1 draw.
Hearts now have five home games in a row and Scotland international Berra, happy to be back among familiar surroundings, is hoping to make them count.
He said: “It’s difficult to have 13 or 14 away games in a row.
“Murrayfield is technically an away game and you could tell the difference in atmosphere here (at Tynecastle).
“The fans are closer to the pitch.
“You just have to grind it out. We’ve done that, we’ve got 16 points now and the ball is in our court to take advantage of that run of home games.
“Teams will come here wanting points, but we have the right management and players.
“There’s still things to be done inside, but you can see the facilities are a lot better than you are used to at Tynecastle.
“It’s a great stadium, it makes the atmosphere better and when all guns are firing on the pitch it’ll be an amazing place.
“They are still building the new dressing rooms, but the temporary ones are better than the old Tynecastle ones
“I’ll miss the history. A lot of people were brought up with the old stand, I made my debut with it.
“But times move on and this is the future.
“We weren’t always certain to stay here, but we definitely are now. It’s one of the best stadiums in Scotland and it’s a great place to play.”
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe