Andy Halliday shows off Serie A knowledge to Italian media scrum as Hearts star reveals team he adores

Andy Halliday bounced into Hearts media briefing yesterday with a 'buongiorno' and a wave for the assembled Italian press

After spending a summer of fine-dining in Florence, the Jambos midfielder proved not to be as fluent in diplomacy after also announcing his boyhood favourites were AC Milan. The press call to prepare for a crunch Europa Conference League clash with Fiorentina was certainly a more light-hearted affair than what's about to unfold tonight.

A clash which can become a door opener towards qualification for the Edinburgh club and Halliday immediately nailed his colours to the mast. He said: “I don’t want to disappoint any Fiorentina fans but it was always AC Milan for me. The kit, some of the legends they had, that millennial team and the 2010s after that, they had some fantastic teams.

Serie A has always been an amazing league, even now you look at Fiorentina and they are one of the massive clubs, so it will be great to play against them. I actually went to Florence on my holidays in the summer there so I know it’s a beautiful city. It’s going to be a great occasion for a lot of our players to go and play in a stadium that is so historic.

I’ve been to a few places in Italy on holiday, Florence was always one I wanted to visit as I had heard it was very beautiful. I did a little tour, I went to Rome, Florence and Bologna for a couple of nights. Great food, I think that’s the main thing."

The 30-year-old pulled on his serious face when he outlined the size of the challenge ahead as Gorgie gets braced for a visit from genuine Italian football royalty. He said: "It’s going to be a massive occasion. I think it shows how far we have come as a football club since I’ve been here. We are hoping to get a