Hearts 0-2 Kilmarnock

May 12 2008 Gary Ralston Reports

HEARTS have spent the last three years washing their dirty linen in public and now they are in danger of hanging Stevie Frail out to dry.

The Jambos and Gretna will close their miserable campaigns at Fir Park tomorrow night in a match that could also mark the end of the Raydale outfit.

Both clubs have plunged in popularity like New Labour in the polls since they met in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden two years ago.

And home fans showed their feelings as threw season tickets on to the pitch on the final whistle.

Hearts will at least be playing SPL football next season and if this club has any honour and decency Frail will be handed an integral role in the new coaching set-up Vladimir Romanov has been promising since January 1.

True, Hearts slipped to eighth in the table as Kilmarnock snatched their first win on the road since September but the stand-in boss's performance must be viewed in the context of appalling football mismanagement at Tynecastle.

The last redhead to hold a fort under so much pressure was Michael Caine in Zulu and there are times when Riccarton must feel like Rorke's Drift for Frail.

He has admirably stabilised the results from a squad of players who were in danger of dropping on their own bayonets before he was handed full command after Christmas.

Romanov has stuck to his vow not to meddle in team affairs so it's almost paradoxical to now accuse him of paying too little attention to the well-being of the squad currently in the bottom six.

He has done nothing to help rookie coach Frail, who had lost only to the Old Firm in the SPL before the split and who now looks close to running on empty at the end of an energy-sapping season after defeats by Falkirk and Kilmarnock.

Aglance at the benches at Tynecastle on Saturday told the story of the difficulties facing the Hearts coach, who has been forced to carry the burden of recent months on his own shoulders.

Five yards away, Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown were plotting and scheming like two wily old foxes but when Frail needed advice or a second opinion he only had a fitness coach on one side and aphysio on the other.

He hasn't only been looking after firstteam affairs but, until a few weeks ago, was also racing off the practice ground to organise the reserves and all the admin issues associated with both sides.

Sporting director Anatoliy Korobochka, meanwhile, is one of Romanov's most amenable lieutenants but his role is less on the ground than in the air. He has been flying here and there checking out players and last week took his second look in recent times at a couple of signing targets from cash-strapped Kaiserslautern.

Frail,like most of us,is not in a financial position to bite the hand that feeds but if there was an edge to his comments as he voiced his frustration after this defeat it was understandable.

He said: "I've been pretty much on my own and at a club of this size it's difficult. For example, after training on a Tuesday I've been running off the pitch to look after the reserves, although Neil McCann has been helping out there.

"It's tough when you come up against other clubs and they have three or four coaches on the bench, but I still feel I've had a reaction from the players.

"Our on-field discipline has improved and from January to the split we were sitting third in the SPL in terms of form. The players have reacted well, although we're disappointed to have lost the last two games. There was an apathy about our play against Killie and I only hope we can finish the season against Gretna with a victory."

The end of season clearly loomed large in the minds of players from both clubs in a first half that only saw drama when thunder crashed and lightning crackled from milky skies above Gorgie.

However, Kilmarnock were livelier after the interval and their persistence paid off 15 minutes from the end when Grant Murray rose unchallenged at the front post to nod a David Fernandez cross past Steve Banks.

The victory was secured eight minutes later when Paul Dalglish, whose deliveries from the right were a feature of Killie's play, whipped in a cross and sub striker Paul di Giacomo volleyed home from close range.

Hearts are the only team in the SPL this season not to have beaten Killie, who will be delighted to see the back of acampaign blighted by injury.

The Gorgie club's woes in the last nine months have been self-inflicted, underlining a questionable quality of leadership from above but the only thing weak about the boss is his surname.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Simon Ford (Kilmarnock)

MATCH STATS

POSSESSION %

55 45

SHOTS ON TARGET

5 5

SHOTS OFF TARGET

6 5

CORNERS

5 2

FOULS CONCEDED

12 11

OFFSIDES

1 3

HEARTS

MAN BY MAN

Steve Banks: Offered little protection at two late goals. 6

Jason Thomson: Solid enough performer at right-back. 6

Marius Zaliukas: Calm and assured until late slips let in Killie. 5

Christos Karipidis: Rarely ruffled until late on. 5

Lee Wallace: Allowed Dalglish to swing in too many dangerous balls. 5

Fernando Screpis: Not afraid to put boot in but some subtle touches too. 6

Eggert Jonsson: Struggled to deliver from wide right and was hooked. 4

Michael Stewart: Groin injury hampered his usual front-foot display. 5

Laryea Kingston: Never quite found the spark to inspire. 5

Deividas Cesnauskis: Performance summed up his Tynecastle career - indifferent. 4

Gary Glen: Given a reality check as he got little change from old head Lilley. 5

Subs: Jamie Mole - on to help Glen in attack, 3. Kestutis Ivaskevicius - offered little

KILMARNOCK

MAN BY MAN

Alan Combe: Dealt comfortably with the few Hearts efforts on target. 6

Grant Murray: Had a stress-free day against Cesnauskis and scored super goal. 7

David Lilley: Diligent defensive organizer rarely put a foot wrong. 6

Simon Ford: Read the game superbly from centre of defence. 8

Garry Hay: Comfortably stood up to the wing threat of Jonsson and Ivaskevicius. 6

James Fowler: Worked hard to quell any danger from Kingston. 6

Allan Johnston: Afew touches of the old Magic when moved from middle to left. 6

Jamie Hamill: Helped extinguish Jambos' forward threat. 6

Paul Dalglish: Threw over some lovely crosses from the right wing. 7

David Fernandez: Still toiling for sharpness in and around the box. 5

Mehdi Taouil: Peripheral on the left, a greater danger through the middle. 6

Subs: Paul di Giacomo - great late strike justified his presence, 6. David Cox - late cameo, 1. Gary Locke - likewise, 1.

MAGIC MOMENT

Paul Dalglish's delivery for di Giacomo's goal was a peach.

Taken from the Daily Record