Comment: Craig Levein and Paul Heckingbottom fighting for survival

Hundreds of Hearts fans protest outside Tynecastle after their team's 3-2 defeat by Motherwell. Picture: Ross MacDonald/SNS

The subsequent win over Hibs in April 2014 was a sweet moment in a grim campaign, more so since it was the nudge that seemed to send their rivals into freefall. They, too, were relegated, via a play-off. It was Edinburgh’s new disgrace, a barely believable and belated merging of status based on a pact of shared abjectness.

The point is, Hearts were severely disadvantaged at that point. So were Hibs to an extent – they were playing the non-scoring version of James Collins up front. However, the Tynecastle side were operating while in administration and doing as well as anyone could reasonably expect. Relegation was unavoidable, although they did their level best to make a fist of it. Indeed, had then manager Gary Locke’s side not suffered a points deduction, they would have finished above Hibs.

The contrast with now is stark. Once again bottom of the league, the situation is unsurprisingly proving unacceptable to many Hearts fans. Their reaction is not a knee jerk one prompted by a poor start to the season, which, we must remember, is only five league games old.

Paul Heckingbottom is under pressure after Hibs' 2-0 defeat at Kilmarnock. Picture: Craig Foy/SNS

Their dissatisfaction extends much further back. They know they should be doing far better. No Hearts fan needs reminding that this time last year they were riding a crest of a wave. Fast forward 12 months and there’s a protest outside the front door of the new main stand at Tynecastle. The purpose of its “glass curtain wall” feature was not to make it easier for those standing outside to identify those they feel are the culprits for just four league wins this calendar year.

The Skyline Lounge, meanwhile, was supposed to offer stunning views of the cityscape, not a throng of finger-jabbing fans, as was the case after Hearts’ latest poor performance and result on Saturday, when they fell 3-2 to Motherwell.

An even more damning table than the current Scottish Premiership one is doing the rounds: it shows Hearts still two points adrift at the bottom with a measly 28 points accrued from league games since the admittedly random date of 28 October, when they lost 3-0 to Celtic in a Betfred Cup semi-final at Murrayfield after lynchpin Steven Naismith limped out of the proceedings with the score at 0-0.

They have gone from a one-man team to one sinking under its own weight of numbers. The temptation is to lump Levein and opposite number Paul Heckingbottom in the same bracket. But this would be to confuse two very different  situations.

Heckingbottom’s recruitment has been underwhelming and few newcomers, if any, have been given pass marks by the fans. This isn’t going to help save Heckingbottom; indeed poor recruitment might be what does for him in the end. Hibs fans will find it hard to argue with their league position given the make-up of their team.

Levein has a different problem. It’s the perceived quality and size of his squad that may well prove his downfall. How can they be in the position? How can he even know his best team? Injury has robbed him of several significant players, no one can argue with that. On top of Naismith, who has been injured again, there’s Peter Haring, another hugely important performer from last season, who is sitting on the sidelines until October at least. Conor Washington looked capable of becoming the No 9 they desperately needed. He was sent on against Motherwell and damaged his hamstring when Hearts were at least poised to make a comeback. He’s now out until next month.

Levein must wonder what he’s done to deserve such rotten luck. However, there’s something he might secretly be grateful for: the venue for this weekend’s derby, which means he’s spared the wrath of the Tynecastle crowd. More importantly, perhaps, his players, some of whom seem visibly to wilt under the pressure of playing at home, may feel a sense of liberation. Then there’s the fact the man in the dugout next to him at Easter Road on Sunday is almost as beleaguered.

Levein might be far from flavour of the month in Gorgie but he’s got support where it matters: in the boardroom. We must assume owner Ann Budge’s tolerance is not going to snap at the critical moment; either prior to such an important game as Sunday or in its aftermath, whatever the result, given there’s a Betfred Cup quarter-final to come against Aberdeen days afterwards.

But on the question of Heckingbottom’s future, who knows what kind of owner Ron Gordon is? Only in position for a matter of weeks, he’s been rumoured to be making his presence felt already.

Heckingbottom will be uncomfortably aware he’s not the chairman’s man. Something else might be making him feel unsettled: the knowledge that Levein, whatever else is going on, and whatever the score the last time the teams met, remains an undisputed Edinburgh derby king having lost just nine out of 61 games to date as a player and manager. Will this be the last time he has a say in one?