Minus 12 and counting

Gary Locke was a happy man as his young Hearts side won the first Edinburgh derby of the season with a hard-fought victory over Hibs today at Tynecastle.

Callum Paterson was the hero, with the 18-year-old striker beating Paul Hanlon at the front post to bullet home a dramatic winner from Dylan McGowan's pinpoint cross with 20 minutes left to play.

Despite a few nervy moments, the Jambos hung on to claim a precious victory as the battle to climb off the bottom of the table truly got underway.

In his post-match press conference, the gaffer enthused about the effort his side had showed, and stressed the significance of getting that vital first three points.

"That was a huge win, it doesn't get much bigger right now", said Gary. "With the situation we're in, it doesn't matter who we beat really, we need wins, but for it to be Hibs it's just an extra reward and the fans should be happy tonight".

"It will give everyone a lift. The sooner you get a win, the better, before heads start to drop", he continued. "I thought there was pressure on both teams, when you lose the first match you need to get a win sooner rather than later".

"The game was 100 miles an hour, but it lacked that bit of quality at times. It certainly wasn't a classic, and I couldn't fault the players' effort for a moment, but the one moment of quality won us the game."

Hearts suffered a blow early in the game, when Ryan Stevenson had to leave the field with an injury. The manager described the injury as "a bad one" but stressed he couldn't say how severe it was until Stevo has a scan tomorrow morning.

"It's a bad one for Ryan, we'll be without him for a number of weeks. He's getting a scan tomorrow, so we should be able to update the supporters then but the squad is small enough as it is, without us picking up injuries".

Finally, Gary was asked for his thoughts on the quality of his young players, through the various age groups, and if he thought they could build on this. He was unequivocal in his response, stating that he had the utmost faith in his young stars going on to have fine careers.

"The lads have the quality, that's for sure. They won't be consistent at first, but that should hopefully come. The fact we have six boys in the Scotland U21s squad speaks volumes, it's unprecedented really. They just need to build on this win, and with a bit of belief, we can continue pressing the teams above us".

Hearts World