Laszlo’s lambasted as Well crash to Jambos

MOTHERWELL boss Mark McGhee slammed Hearts boss Csaba Laszlo after the managerial duo became embroiled in a touchline war of words following Well's 2-1 defeat.

The Jambos tightened their grip on third place by opening up a five-point gap on nearest challenges Dundee United thanks to a late winner from Spanish midfielder Ruben Palazuelos.

Well's hopes of a second successive Euro campaign have all but disappeared as they now trail Laszlo's side by 12 points.

But the major talking point to emerge from Tynecastle was the battle of the bosses that raged on the sidelines.
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McGhee said: "I was quite disappointed after a foul and by the reaction of their bench you would have thought there had been an assassination. I asked Laszlo what his problem was and he told me to eff off'. What's that all about?"

McGhee, who saw his charges drop out of the top six after their nine-game unbeaten run came to an end and Hibs won at Hamilton, admits third place is beyond his side.

The Well gaffer said: "We have no chance of getting third spot now. It's far too much for us to do. I'm disappointed we didn't win but 100% satisfied with the way we played. I believe we'll eventually finish in the top six.

"Hearts seem to be getting results although I don't know how. It was a game that we completely dominated. We didn't win the game, because we were slack at two long throw-ins.

"To concede two goals from the exact same situation, particularly in that last minute, was disappointing.

"I'm disappointed but I'm satisfied that I've got a good team. We played with style at times."

It was Hearts who took the lead soon after the interval when Andrew Driver nodded in from close range as Well failed to deal with a Robbie Neilson long throw-in, but Stephen Hughes, who had earlier hit the bar, levelled with an angled shot.

The game looked set to finish level heading into five minutes of injury time only for Palazuelos popped up with a dramatic deflected winner.

But Hearts boss Laszlo was quick to fire back as he claimed McGhee was the instigator of the managerial mayhem in the technical area at Tynecastle.

The Gorgie gaffer said: "If he told you what I said then he should also have told you what he told me before. I'm also not telling you what he said when the score went to 1-1 because if I told you we must go to the law.

"I apologised directly to him for my attitude but he did not do the same to me. I'm not here to go to war as I respect him for all he achieved in Germany and here in Scotland but we must respect each other."

However, Laszlo also had praise for Well and said: "Motherwell played very good football, I must compliment the opponent.

"It's my mentality not to give up and I told the players at half-time to work to win the game. Thankfully, we did that."