RIX - WE'VE GOT TO KEEP IT TOGETHER

By Ronnie Esplin, PA Sport

Hearts head coach Graham Rix admits the Tynecastle side's season could be in danger of unravelling after their 1-0 defeat by Kilmarnock in the Bank of Scotland Premier League at Rugby Park.

In an enthralling affair which raged from end to end, uncontrollably at times, Danny Invincibile's close-range strike less than a minute into the second half was enough to give the Ayrshire side a deserved victory.

The Gorgie men - who never really got going despite a spirited second-half fightback - forfeited the chance to reduce the seven-point gap on leaders Celtic, who also have a game in hand against Motherwell.

Rix said: "It's the most disappointed I've been since I took over.

"Over the last few weeks we've put in some good performances and then to come here to what is a great surface on a great day for football and not perform is frustrating.

"There's still a lot to play for. We are second in the league and we're in the Tennent's Scottish Cup but many more performances like that and all the good work that's gone beforehand this season could be thrown away.

"I think the boys realised that after the game but it's too late having regrets at the end of the game."

Rix had no complaints about David Lilley's tackle on Neil McCann which ended the wide-man's second debut for the Gorgie club just after 24 minutes.

He said: "It was a fair tackle but I feel for the kid, it's opened up his knee joint."

Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies revealed a pre-match comment from Rix spurred his players on to, "the best performance of the season".

He explained: "We heard Graham Rix saying that if both teams play well then they will win easy and we talked about that.

"But if one team plays really well then the other team doesn't get a chance to play well and I think that's what happened.

"We played so well we never allowed Hearts to get on top of us, they created very little compared to Kilmarnock who were very dangerous.

"It was the best performance of the season and we thoroughly deserved to win. Hearts couldn't have complained if it had been 3-0.

"Gary Wales missed a chance to give us a cushion and then, as they were pushing forward to get an equaliser, Colin Nish got a gift which he missed.

"But even though Wales and Nish missed sitters they worked extremely hard for the team. We had some outstanding performances and it was thoroughly deserved."

Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon played down a momentary post-match spat with opposite goalkeeper Alan Combe which put the cap on a compelling but occasionally ill-tempered match.

The Killie keeper, a boyhood Hibernian fan, appeared to cup his ears to the travelling Jambos fans after the final whistle, provoking Gordon to pass comment on the way off the pitch.

The Scottish international turned back, somewhat reluctantly it seemed, to make up with a conciliatory handshake.

Gordon said: "He does tend to get a bit of stick from the Hearts fans about being a Hibs supporter or whatever it is he gets stick for.

"But I wouldn't like to do that to any opposition fans.

"It's just one of these things. I was a bit annoyed at the time but that's life.

"I had a word with him afterwards and shook his hand so there is no problem there.

"It was a bit of an afterthought to go back but I don't want to be a player who doesn't shake somebody's hand."

Killie striker Steven Naismith acknowledged the significance of the result.

He said: "It was a massive result for us.

"We hadn't taken the points off any of the top four teams and we did that. That has to give us the spur to go on."

Taken from sportinglife.com