GRAHAM'S TACTICS HELPED MAKE US DERBY DESTROYERS

GRAHAM RIX has done a good job under difficult circumstances at Tynecastle.

And I would like to think Hearts' emphatic derby win over Hib s last weekend was a pivotal moment in his management career.

There needs to be more objectivity in this country.

When we went to play Kilmarnock two weeks ago there was great excitement on the back of us scoring nine goals against Falkirk and Dunfermline.

Then when we lost at Rugby Park there was a sudden outbreak of gloom and doom.

Everybody has to see the bigger picture which is that we have performed well and Graham has been the recipient of unjustified criticism.

He took a very courageous decision when he went with a 4-5-1 formation against Hibs and the result was a victory for his tactical awareness.

We nullified Hibs' space, played on the front foot ourselves and beat a very good team with a bold approach.

Hibs are an excellent side with a smashing manager in Tony Mowbray and they should be proud of what they've achieved while working under greater financial constraints than ourselves.

That's why I hope nobody associated with the club took any offence over Rudi Skacel's striptease at the end of the game. It was an exuberant demonstration of happiness but definitely not aprovocative gesture.

Rudi is not the type of person who would be confrontational. He's extremely popular with the supporters and wanted to show his affection for Hearts because he feels this is the best environment he has played in during his professional career.

And before anyone asks, if you look closely at the photos of his post-match celebrations you'll see that was a banana that was stuck down his cycling shorts.

The joy of the occasion was what makes it great to be part of the Hearts set-up at the moment. I've endured a lot over eight years at Tynecastle but enormous changes have taken place.

And all of them have been of a positive nature since Vladimir Romanov took over.

We have more medical staff at Tynecastle. We pay greater attention to the advances in fitness methods. And yesterday we paraded five players in a transfer-window splurge.

These are not just additional players. They are performers of the highest quality and their arrival is a further boost for the fans after the result against Hibs.

They'll be integrated into the dressing room like all the rest and our team spirit will be strengthened as a result.

It will also make for a high level of competition for places in the immediate future but a club intent on pursuing success on a variety of domestic and European fronts needs widespread choice.

We sometimes have communication problems but they clearly don't transmit themselves on to the pitch because we haven't been out of the top two since the season started.

We are making a coherent case for being championship challengers and the new signings send out a signal concerning the seriousness of our intentions.

Taken from the Daily Record