Bad timing as sun goes down on Hearts' hopes

David Hardie

CRAIG LEVEIN’S reaction to seeing his side roundly defeated by First Division Falkirk was easily understandable, the Hearts boss stating that next season he won’t be taking his players back to Portugal for their winter break.

Levein and his squad had returned from a brief stay in the Algarve with the Tynecastle boss thanking his directors for finding the money at a cash-strapped club, allowing them to make that trip which, he believed, would set Hearts up nicely for the second half of the season.

That notion was shattered in just 30 minutes at Brockville as Trinidad and Tobago kid Collin Samuel ran riot, scoring an astonishing hat-trick as Ian McCall’s side strolled to a 4-0 win.

Falkirk winning wasn’t the greatest shock in the history of the Scottish Cup, Rangers at Berwick and Celtic at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle are the clear contenders for that title, but it was the margin of victory which was the big surprise.

Even before a ball was kicked those managers and players involved in all-Premierleague ties admitted they’d rather have the draw they’d landed than travel to Brockville, never the easiest of grounds but especially at a time when the Bairns were flying high at the top of the First Division.

It was an accident waiting to happen although that will hardly temper the disappointment felt by Levein, his players and their fans.

Levein undoubtedly spent much, if not all of Saturday night, dwelling on events at Brockville, mulling over what went wrong, before making his declaration that Hearts won’t be going back to the Algarve next January.

His reasoning, and there’s a certain logic to it, was that Hearts returned from a similar trip two years ago only to suffer another cup disappointment, a nail-biting 0-0 draw with Berwick although, on that occasion, they made the most of a second attempt to stagger into the draw for the next round.

There were no second chances this time, but rather than reproach himself, Levein may question the wisdom of the powers-that-be in allowing the first match back after the Premierleague’s winter break to be this season’s introduction to the Scottish Cup.

No matter how much training was put in over the break - and Hearts can’t be accused of lounging around in the winter sun of Portugal having indulged in double sessions most days - an element of risk was bound to remain, particularly when facing a team not only buoyed by confidence but one which had retained it’s ‘edge’ by playing competitive football.

It could, of course, be argued that such a scenario only adds to the uncertainty of cup football but it is a question the Premierleague clubs need to address.

An extended run in the Scottish Cup can bring, particularly at this time, much-needed money to a club and, at the end of the season, might just mean the difference between a manager being able to enter the transfer market or not.

Levein, no doubt, will be acutely aware of what an early exit means in terms of money to spend on his squad although next week’s CIS Cup semi-final against Rangers and the prospect of the final itself will help ease the pain being felt in the Tynecastle pocket.

Even so, the cost of defeat by Falkirk will be felt - Capital rivals, Hibs, having pointed out (while revealing a record loss of £2.8million in the last financial year) how going out of the CIS Cup at the penultimate stage to Ayr United cost them an estimated £1m.

Levein has proved himself to be a shrewd operator at the budget end of the transfer market, the signings of Mark de Vries, Jean Louis Valois and Phil Stamp all proving to be astute moves along with his "gamble" on snapping up the then injured Neil MacFarlane.

No doubt Levein will continue to operate in the same manner in future although his task would have been made that little bit easier with the sort of cash a run in the Scottish Cup might have brought.

As Levein himself will point out, though, there’s no reason to cry over split milk, his side still have the desire to finish third in the Premierleague and clinch a place in Europe as they showed by bouncing back from their cup disappointment to clinch an impressive last-minute win over Aberdeen on Tuesday night.

But what of Falkirk? They looked upon the clash with Hearts as a chance to gauge how far they’ve come in their quest for top-flight football, a test they passed with flying colours.

Many might say it is easier to win a one-off match of this nature and couldn’t be seen as a true test of their Premierleague credentials but the Bairns have been there or thereabouts often enough in recent seasons to suggest that they have what it takes.

What has held Falkirk back has been the Premierleague’s criteria for stadia, namely that they have a capacity of 10,000 all-seated. Falkirk have repeatedly failed that test and will do so again even if they win the First Division title outright this season. Even the fact that a new ground is about to be built on the outskirts of the town won’t help as it won’t be ready before the cut-off date of March 31. It’s high time the Premierleague looked again at this rule and allowed clubs some leeway. Falkirk are showing genuine intent to comply with the criteria and if, as expected, they win the title they shouldn’t be denied the biggest prize of them all just for the sake of a few months.

Let them ground share with, say, Airdrie, an accommodation which would also help the Lanarkshire club.

Otherwise, the Premierleague will become a closed shop, a cosy league of 12 clubs who will be relatively safe from relegation in the knowledge that clubs which have practically bankrupted themselves in bringing their grounds up to the required standard probably won’t be able to afford a team capable of taking the title.

Taken from the Scotsman