IAN Cathro hit out last night at the "crazy" scheduling which means he will have to play his fourth round Scottish Cup replay against Raith Rovers this Wednesday.
A potential home Edinburgh derby against Hibs waits in the fifth round if the Tynecastle side can get past a Kirkcaldy side managed by former Hearts star Gary Locke and inspired by their 2012 cup final hero Rudi Skacel.
The Czech came off the bench yesterday to get an assist on the last-minute Declan McManus goal which equalised Jamie Walker's first-half opener and means this tie will be settled in Gorgie on Wednesday night.
Read more: Hearts' fans cheers turn to curses as cup charm Skacel becomes tormentor-in-chief
Hearts are currently deprived of Arnaud Djoum and Feycal Rherras due to the Africa Cup of Nations and are bedding in a number of new players, but there is a full card of Ladbrokes Premiership fixtures the week after next.
"It is not great [to have to play again on Wednesday]," said Cathro. "I didn't know it was the case until about 10 minutes ago. It seems a bit crazy to be honest - to have to play back-to-back. I understand there are a lot of scheduling demands but that doesn't make sense for a lot of reasons. But there's nothing we can do."
While Cathro said he felt Hearts "were the better team", Locke said the draw was merited.
“It was totally deserved," said Locke. "We’ve all seen Rudi Skacel over the years. He’s getting on a bit now and not getting any younger. But he still has those qualities. I’ve said it a million times, I didn’t just bring him here because I have a good relationship with him."
Read more: Hearts' fans cheers turn to curses as cup charm Skacel becomes tormentor-in-chief
"It’s a quick turnaround," he said of the second match. "It would be better if we had a league game first but if that’s the way it is then we’ll go again on Wednesday. It will be a completely different game at Tynecastle against a Hearts side with the crowd behind them. But if we go there and play they way we did today then we’ll cause them problems.
“jI’m well aware of how it can also be there - I’ve been on the end of it a few times! It’s a great place to play when things are going for you but when things are not going for you it can be difficult. We’ve got to go with the same belief we had today and if we do that we’ll have a chance of winning.”
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