That was for Robbo

HEARTS goal hero Lee Miller today hailed the Jambos’ stunning triumph over Celtic and insisted: "That was for the gaffer."

The loan star opened the scoring with his first goal at Parkhead after just eight minutes before strike partner Mark Burchill added a second soon after to complete the Gorgie outfit’s first victory at the home of the Glasgow giants since February 2000.

The deserved victory could not have come at a better time for boss John Robertson, who had seen new chief executive Phil Anderton refuse to guarantee his position beyond the end of the season just 24 hours prior to kick-off.

Speculation has been rife for some time that the new Vladimir Romanov regime is considering bringing in their own man over the summer months.

Miller, though, insists the manager has the total backing of the players.

"It was a brilliant victory for us and to be honest we could have scored more in the end," he said.

"It was good to get the win for the gaffer as he has been getting a lot of criticism recently and must have been under pressure. The players have tried hard not to read too much into everything that is being said and have just been trying to concentrate on the football.

"But it must have been hard for the boss and that’s why it was great to get such a good victory."

Miller nodded home from close range to set the visitors on their way before Burchill doubled their advantage with 19 minutes on the clock.

Robertson’s tactics worked perfectly as his players worked tirelessly to snuff out the threat of the likes of Craig Bellamy, John Hartson, Stilian Petrov and Aiden McGeady.

With Miller, Andy Webster and Marius Kizys all missing second-half opportunities, the magin of victory could easily have been more emphatic.

"We might have scored three or four on the day and that just shows the belief the lads have," said 21-year-old Miller.

"Our game plan worked perfectly and we attacked them when we could. It was a great day for us."

Underlining the squad’s commitment to their manager, he added: "I think the boss is doing tremendously and has got us playing some very good football. "The result showed what a good manager he is and we’re all right behind him."

Robertson was delighted by what was an outstanding team effort, the win setting the Jambos up for Sunday’s Tennent’s Scottish Cup semi-final showdown against the Celts at Hampden Park.

"I am proud of every single one of the players," he said. "We knew even when we got to half-time with a 2-0 lead that there was still a lot of work to do. We told the players three words: ‘finish the job’ and they did just that."

The Tynecastle boss was particularly pleased with the way in which teenager Lee Wallace coped with his first outing at Parkhead.

"We knew this would be a huge game for him but he came through with flying colours. He has been playing well in the reserves and deserved his chance."

Kizys, Burchill and Jamie McAllister all picked up injuries and Robertson will be hoping the trio can recover in time for Sunday.

Taken from the Scotsman