Hearts 1-0 Kilmarnock: Jambos hunt for a place in Europe

Published Date: 12 April 2010
By BARRY ANDERSON
SECURING top-six status adds some justification to recent comments by Vladimir Romanov, Hearts' majority shareholder, that the club's change in recruitment policy will eventually bear dividends.
It has been evident for some months that Tynecastle officials were leaning towards home-grown talent with the occasional gem from lower leagues arriving to complement what is already a squad full of burgeoning talent. Romanov's words on Friday merely offered official confirmation of the new stance.

The Russian banker took his place in the directors' box on Saturday to witness what would be his second Hearts victory of the day. That morning he was at Riccarton to see the club's under-19s defeat their Hibs counterparts 3-1. He was accompanied in the VIP area by the entire Hearts board except chairman Roman Romanov, who bizarrely remains a conspicuous absentee. Sergejus Fedotovas, Julija Groncaruk and Vitalijus Vasiliauskas were all in attendance for a match dominated by the hosts, whose only fault was their inability to convert possession into goals.

They managed one, and in the end that was all they required to dispense with a toothless Kilmarnock side. It was delivered via the right boot of Spanish winger Suso Santana on 31 minutes after Eggert Jonsson's shot was blocked by Garry Hay.

Adding a touch of luxury to proceedings at this stage of the season is most welcome, which is exactly what this victory did for Hearts. A considerably more one-sided affair than the scoreline suggests, it nonetheless allowed Jim Jefferies to glance up the league table in the knowledge he need not concern himself with what transpires below.

The advantage of finishing the season in the SPL's upper echelons means Hearts can now pursue a place in Europe, which would require a minimum fourth-place finish. There are no nerves involved this year for they now "become the hunter", as Jefferies put it, and can chase Motherwell and Hibs above them without fear of falling below their current placing of sixth.

The impression given by Jefferies, though, is that he is already glancing ahead to next season and planning major changes. Some of those were discussed on Friday when he met Romanov and Fedotovas.

"I sat down with Sergey and Mr Romanov. We talked about staff, players and the individual terms of the young players here," he said. "I gave my thoughts and they were receptive towards them. I know Mr Romanov's ideas. I think they've changed and he's come out and said that. Hopefully we can work together and he'll trust me to build a side and bring success here.

"At the same time people move on and can bring the club money in. Mr Romanov said the emphasis is on players coming in from this country instead of mercenaries. That's his words, it's nice to hear and we'll try to work closely to bring in players at a reasonable price to take us forward."

Jefferies' long-term expectations are for a finish considerably higher than sixth, but since his appointment in January it has been a case of one step at a time. Whilst ensuring Hearts' final five matches of the 2009/10 campaign are against the SPL's more salubrious clubs, he has managed to imbue certain players with greater intent. Suso would be a prime example.

"Considering all the injuries we have improved in terms of work rate. We've achieved the top six, now we set different targets. It's mathematically possible to catch teams above us so we will try and do that. Suso is turning out to be a bit of a goalscorer for us. That's five goals for him this year, three here at Tynecastle in recent weeks (against Falkirk, Rangers and Kilmarnock]."

The winger himself admitted to feeling more settled in Edinburgh following the birth of his daughter. "Since my baby girl was born everything has been great. Sixth place is not where we want to be, we want to be higher up and that's where we aim to be. When I first came to Edinburgh I couldn't understand the language but I have learned a bit of English and I understand what the manager needs.

"There is a lot more intensity in Scotland, that's the difference from Spain. It's difficult to adapt at first but I have adapted to the style of play and to the city."

Injury troubles resurfaced once again for Hearts only seconds before Suso struck, with Andy Driver departing after pulling up on the left flank. "It's not the tendonitis in the knee," said a relieved Jefferies. "As he ran he felt his thigh. We won't know the damage until a scan. If there's any risk we won't take it but we have to wait to find out if it's a strain or a tear."

The post-match contrast between Jefferies and Calderwood was striking as the managers delivered their respective views of the contest. Jefferies, perhaps only through politeness, opined that Kilmarnock had "not let anyone down" with their performance. Calderwood begged to differ after a result which left his side one point off the bottom of the SPL.

"We lost too many personal battles. We have only scored four goals away from home all season and that tells its own story," he said. "I don't think Hearts were any better than us, except for the last 15 minutes of the first half. You have to earn the right to win a football match and we lost too many individual battles. Away from home we are an entirely different team from how we play at Rugby Park.

"We have three away games after the split and looking at the away form it isn't looking good. You have to get on to people if they aren't doing their jobs or winning tackles. We are far too nice with each other. That might be the first time I've ever said that about one of my teams. Good teams will shout at each other and don't accept crap from their players. We have the personnel to beat the drop, it's just the hunger and desire to win every game."

"Kilmarnock are fighting for their lives, they didn't let anyone down and they have some good lads," said Jefferies. "They put us under pressure and we had to deal with it. Jason Thomson called off and Eggert went in at right-back with Lee Wallace at centre-back. Kilmarnock had one or two chances and so did we.

"It was important to get the first goal but we had a couple of scary moments. Balls into the box and lapses in concentration were a bit sloppy. What we can't fault them for is grinding out a result. Hearts don't have a good record of that but we did it on Saturday. It was a big game for us.

"I thought Larry Kingston tried to get the ball down and pass it. He was top man for us, as was Zaliukas. Hearts should be in the top six and challenging higher up. Now we become the hunter. Fifth place cannot get you into Europe. Hibs have six points on us but we have no pressure on us. We want to get there so we need to use the games between now and the end of the season to have a go."

Taken from the Scotsman