Craig Levein: Hearts made Livingston '˜look like Paris Saint-Germain'

Craig Levein blasted his players after their 5-0 drubbing in West Lothian. Picture: SNS Group

The manager complained that his side made Livi look like Paris Saint-Germain as they conceded all five goals inside a manic 14-minute capitulation during the second half.

Levein left the Tony Macaroni Arena furious at the collapse and did not hold back in his post-match assessment. Craig Halkett’s 72nd-minute penalty - after the Livingston captain was fouled in the air by Hearts goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal - opened the scoring before Hearts midfielder Arnaud Djoum was sent off.

Dolly Menga doubled the advantage, then came two Ryan Hardie goals and a late strike by Shaun Byrne to complete the rout.

“It was horrible. Embarrassing. I just didn’t see it coming,” said Levein. “We had some things go against us in a short time frame, starting with Clevid Dikamona having to go off injured.

“In the second half, we started reasonably well. I felt we were better. Then we’ve had a mad spell around the first goal. Bobby [Zlamal] has spent far too long making his mind up whether to come for the ball and paid the penalty.

“We lose Arnaud, which I thought was harsh. But it wasn’t what led to us losing five goals. That was down to us capitulating. We made them look like Paris Saint-Germain at times.

“Some people went into their shell and started looking after themselves It’s embarrassing. Credit to Livingston but my main concern is making sure that, for our supporters, that doesn’t happen again.”

Levein expected better from his players and questioned Zlamal’s decision-making for Livingston’s penalty. “I expect better from every player. Okay, we’ve had some psychological knocks, like the penalty which is just stupid.

“As a player, when you see somebody doing something like that, you think it’s hard enough without somebody contributing to helping the opposition – which is exactly what Bobby did.

“He had two or three in first half he could have caught but punched. He had an off night. It crept into two or three other players. It does put you off when you see that.”

Ironically, Hearts had started the second half strongly before falling behind. “Ten minutes into the second half, I thought we’d have won the game,” said Levein.

“I’m embarrassed about the whole thing. What’s important is I give the fans assurances that this doesn’t happen again. And that’s what I’m doing because that just wasn’t acceptable.”

Gary Holt, the Livingston manager, celebrated one of the most memorable results of his managerial career as his club climbed to fifth in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

However, he rejected any notion that they could reach the European places. “Definitely not. We want to be guaranteed tenth, guaranteed safe. As soon as it’s mathematically impossible to go down, we can then look at where we go next.

“I’ve been on the end of a few games where it doesn’t go as well. We created good chances and had to guard against Hearts’ threat. They hit the post, the boy [Sean] Clare got in at 0-0 and it could have been a different game.

‘The players keep producing the intensity, it makes for a great threat. Young Scotty Pittman can run all day. They kept going, kept creating chances. When Hearts went down to ten, we didn’t panic, played with composure and created chances.”