Robbo insists Hearts won't fall back

ALASDAIR FRASER AT CALEDONIAN STADIUM

HEARTS legend John Robertson is tipping his former Tynecastle team-mate Craig Levein to make an impact in Europe this season.

Robbo admits he is not the most neutral of observers when it comes to assessing the club where he scored more than 300 goals and will be forever idolised by supporters.

But he felt he saw enough from a significantly understrength Hearts in their 2-1 defeat against Inverness Caley Thistle last night to suggest they can achieve big things at home and abroad.

The Caley Thistle manager watched Dennis Wyness, almost inevitably, return to haunt his former employers after this summer’s Bosman move. However, Paul Ritchie’s double brought the Jambos a fourth defeat in six pre-season games.

Like Levein, though, Robertson sees no great cause for alarm among supporters.

He said: "Most teams Hearts have faced so far in friendlies have sat in against them, but we promised Craig we would have a real go at them. Hearts have a couple of weeks to go yet before competitive games and they have been mixing and matching.

"He’s got a strong squad and can leave out the likes of Andy Webster, Steven Pressley, Mark de Vries and Paul Hartley, among others, and still put out a very strong squad capable of doing itself justice in the Premierleague.

"Craig is a very shrewd coach, a very good coach, and he knows exactly what he’s doing. I’ve no doubts whatsoever come the opening day of the season Hearts will be flying. I fully expect them to do very well in Europe and again be in the top three domestically. And, of course, I’m not biased at all!"

Hearts joined Aberdeen and Livingston on Caley’s pre-season list of Premier scalps and it was the hosts’ eighth win on the trot in warm-up games.

It took until 23 minutes for either side to carve a genuine scoring chance with David Bingham showing his class with a cleverly disguised flick to send Richie Hart racing into the box. The midfielder opted to pull the ball across goal but Steven Hislop was muscled out as he went for the kill.

Andy Kirk twice tested home keeper Mark Brown, but Caley took the lead in 36 minutes. Hearts keeper Tepi Moilanen had fumbled a cross early on, but was blameless as Ritchie powered in a loose ball from six yards.

After the break, Bingham again showed his awareness, twice breaking behind the Hearts back line only to be blocked by the by now commanding Moilanen. But Caley did go 2-0 up in 57 minutes with Bingham flighting in a lovely cross from the left. It looked too tight an angle for Paul Ritchie at the far post, but he did brilliantly to lift his foot high and place the ball over Moilanen.

Hearts clawed a way back into the match in 72 minutes - and inevitably it came from Wyness. The former Caley and Aberdeen striker rose unmarked to head home sub Ross McLeod’s cross from the left.

Levein was not too perturbed by the outcome, stressing: "That game was very similar to others we’ve experienced in pre-season. We’ve actually played reasonably well, but we just seem to be getting punished for mistakes. You go through periods of getting away with things, but other times nothing really goes for you.

"In the last four games, we’ve maybe given up seven or eight chances to the opposition, and let in five goals which is a high ratio.

"But I’m pretty confident we’ll get it tightened up and we were without three of our recognised defenders in Pressley, Webster and Alan Maybury.

"I find it hard to be too critical, other than for the loss of goals. It might sound silly after losing three games on the trot, but I’m fairly happy with the way things are going."

Levein was delighted at the Wyness contribution - and the warm ovation from home supporters. He added: "If you give Dennis a chance and put the ball into areas where he can attack it, he will score goals.

"I was really pleased with the crowd’s reaction. One of the reasons I took him north was to hopefully get a good ovation and it says a lot about the lad that he did. He’s a smashing boy and I’m really pleased for him."

Inverness CT: Brown, Proctor, Golabek, Mann, McCaffrey, Duncan, Hart, Hislop (Low 78), Ritchie, McBain, Bingham. Subs: Munro, Finnigan, MacKinnon, Fraser.

Hearts: Moilanen, Neilson (McLeod 64), Kisnorbo, MacFarlane, McKenna, Severin, Boyack (Hamill 80), Wyness (King 81), Kirk (Weir 64), Janczyk (Dunn 69), Sloan. Subs: Windrum, McGeown, Fox, King.

Referee: Mike Ritchie.

Taken from the Scotsman