Woeful Hearts are indebted to wonder show by Anthony Basso

As Vladimir Romanov, their controversial Lithuanian owner, watched on, even he must have realised that his statement of intent when he first took over at Heart of Midlothian – to topple the Old Firm and take the Edinburgh club on to a new international level – was, frankly, bonkers.

Instead, the club with the third-biggest budget in Scottish football outwith of Rangers and Celtic will be plying their trade from now until the summer with the likes of Gretna and St Mirren. Hardly Real Madrid and Manchester United, is it, Vlad?

Given that this was one of the matches the Tynecastle club had to win to maintain their ambition of a place in the upper half of the league come the split, it is incomprehensible that they put in a display of such ineptitude. It was a gutless performance summing up everything that is wrong with the club since Romanov began his meddling.

When Laryea Kingston, their top earner on around £14,000 per week, stormed off the field having contributed little and refused to take his seat in the technical area with his teammates, it showed precisely why they are where they are. A hissy fit, which saw the Ghana player glare at the bench before trudging down the tunnel to sulk, does little for team morale.

His utter lack of respect and disregard for the importance of this game was matched by his teammates who, too often, seem interested in playing only for themselves. Had it not been for one of the performances of the season from Anthony Basso, their French goalkeeper, they would have left Rugby Park with what they deserved rather than what they actually got.

Basso proved impenetrable and had it not been for his saves, Kilmarnock would have triumphed by at least three goals.

Only last month, Hearts announced debts of £36.25 million for the year ending July 31, 2007. Such is the heavy burden of the finances, it is feared that they could easily become the next club to “do a Gretna” if Romanov considers pulling his support.

Stevie Frail, the Heart of Midlothian head coach until the end of the season, tried initially to put a positive spin on the events, claiming that they have been the form side outside the Old Firm for the past third of the league campaign. But nothing else would be expected of a Scottish team who pay out £10,000 per week to individuals in a league where other clubs can offer only around £500.

An hour or so after the game finished, Frail entered the press room to explain what had gone wrong. Having initially defended his players, he turned on them after a missed opportunity that is expected to end with Frail leaving Tynecastle this summer with a new head coach arriving. “To end our top-six bid like that is really poor,” he said. “They were well aware of what was at stake but looked as though they were treating it like a testimonial. We were lucky to get a point and it hurts me to say Kilmarnock looked hungrier. At times you would have thought it was them going for the top six. Financially it’s a big thing but players should want to play in five big games towards the end of the season. The result was disappointing, the performance was disappointing and it just sums up the whole season, really. If I’m here next season, then I’m here. If not, I’ll just need to look for something else.”

Kilmarnock hit a post early on through Tim Clancy, their excellent full back, before they were reduced to ten men when Frazer Wright, their centre back, was dismissed for a shirt-pull on Christian Nade, the opposition striker.

Clancy, who will be due a new contract if he plays one more game for the club, said that they were left to rue missed opportunities. He said: “We were on top and had a lot of chances. We have played well in a lot of games but the pressure is off now that Gretna are down.”

Basso was the only player from Hearts to show his face after the match, saying: “We are disappointed not to win the game as we wanted to be in the top six. We should have shown more to make sure we won.”

Romanov’s plans for world domination will just have to wait.

Kilmarnock (4-3-3): A Combe 7 – T Clancy 8, D Lilley 7, F Wright 7, G Hay 6 – J Fowler 6, G Locke 7 (sub: I Flannigan 73min), C Bryson 7 – D Invincibile 7, M Taouil 6 (sub: J Hamill 88), D Fernandez 8 (sub: G Wales, 73). Substitutes not used: C Harpur, W Gibson, P Dalglish, R O’Leary. Booked: Wright, Hay, Clancy. Sent off: Wright.

Heart of Midlothian (4-1-4-1): A Basso 9 – R Neilson 5, I Tall 6, C Berra 6, J Goncalves 5 – F Screpis 6 (sub: C Elliot 86) – L Kingston 6 (sub: M Stewart, 65 4), K Ivaskevicius 5 (sub: Glen, 58 4), R Palazuelos 4, S Mikoliunas 5 – C Nade 5. Substitutes not used: S Banks, L Wallace, S Husband, R McGowan. Booked: Tall, Mikoliunas, Berra.

Referee C Thomson
Attendance 5,901

Taken from timesonline.co.uk