Antwerp boss wary of tuned-up Hearts

De Roover expects a stern examination of his players' credentials in Edinburgh against a home team playing their final warm-up fixture before the SPL season commences. The match against Belgium's oldest football club will mark Tynecastle's 125th anniversary.

Antwerp currently play in Belgium's second division and thumped amateur side Antonia 4-0 in their last pre-season outing. De Roover today dismissed that result as "not real" and explained why the trip to Scotland will be a clearer measure of his team's standing.

"We want a good performance with a lot of enthusiasm," he said. "It's up to the team to show they are moving forwards. Our physical condition is not at the maximum but I think we can play a good game. We will be organised. Hearts are a good team and I hope they will play with a good tempo. It will be the toughest game for us and the players are looking forward to it."

Around 250 fans are expected to travel from Belgium to follow Antwerp. "This will be a very important game for Hearts because they must be ready in a few days," continued De Roover. "We have only been training for two weeks and we are looking to put our team together so it will be very important for us too. Our players have to show if they are ready to take a step forward. I have a lot of respect for Hearts. They have a lot of history and we have history even though we play in the second division in Belgium. We are ambitious but we are just starting our preparations. Some of our players may be leaving before our league season starts, others are coming so I think it will be one or two weeks before we are ready with our selection."

Hearts will utilise the match to fine-tune their game ahead of the trip to Ibrox on Saturday week to open the new SPL campaign. They also face Livingston at Almondvale this Saturday, and the two games in two days are intended to allow players to hone their fitness and ready themselves for the new season.