Andy Webster isn’t satisfied with Hearts’ position

ANOTHER month’s wages finally landed in the Hearts players’ bank accounts yesterday. However, Andy Webster has refused to let the ongoing distraction be an excuse for a season when he believes the club have fallen short of the standard they are capable of reaching.

A win against Aberdeen this weekend would seal a place in the top half of the Scottish Premier League prior to the next month’s split but events off the field have kept things interesting even if the Tynecastle side have fallen well short of the consistency shown last season.

In addition to the obligatory managerial change in August has been the issue over the players’ wages. Three straight months of delayed player wages prompted an official complaint from the players, via union PFA Scotland, to the Scottish Premier League, but action was averted in January when Hearts met the demands imposed. However, the issue reared its ugly head again this month. The players and staff received their March salaries yesterday, 12 days late. In this context, sixth place – with a William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic to come – could be viewed as more than acceptable. However, Webster is far from satisfied.

“The top six is the bare minimum where we should be,” said the centre-half yesterday, as he made a rare appearance in front of the media. “What has happened off the pitch has been a factor but, when you get on the pitch, that’s your job and you need to make sure you remain focused on what you are setting out to achieve. From that point of view, as a team we will be slightly disappointed but there are still a few games left to hopefully rectify that.

“There are games where we should have won and games where we probably could have lost but got points. Overall, though, I think we should definitely be in a position where we are slightly higher in the league. In the few games that are left we have to show a bit of form and get ourselves up that league.”

Of course, the campaign might yet reach a crescendo. Webster is relishing the opportunity to reach another Scottish final with Hearts. And this time he will hope to play in the showpiece occasion following his exclusion in 2006, after incurring Vladimir Romanov’s displeasure just prior to the Scottish Cup final against Gretna. Webster found a suitable way to assuage the pain of missing out – he lifted the same cup with Dundee United four years later.

Webster adopted a diplomatic stance yesterday when asked about the events of 2006, when he was placed in exile by Romanov following a contract dispute.

“Up a point,” he said, when asked if he had felt part of it – he had, after all, been a central figure in the 4-0 victory over Hibernian in the semi-final. “If you don’t play, your involvement and contribution to it is reduced. But that’s by the by. I am not overly fussed. It’s about the here and now.”

Webster was even hesitant to look back over the course of this season as he promoted the club’s players’ player of the year awards dinner, which takes place at Tynecastle on 6 May.

“Genuinely, you don’t give it too much thought throughout the season,” he said, when he was asked to name those team-mates who had impressed him most. “When you get caught up in the season it’s hard to reflect on what’s gone by. But I am sure there would be a few candidates for player of the season.”

Ian Black, Webster acknowledged, is one of the them. The midfielder has established himself in the Hearts engine room and some artful displays have encouraged critics to alter their view of a performer whose niggling style was thought to blunt his effectiveness.

“Blackie is a quality player,” said Webster. “Some people tend to focus on the other side of it. But from a footballing point of view he is technically very good, and he can pass the ball with both feet. He dictates the play for us – the Hibs game last Sunday highlighted that.”

Webster, now 29, made his Hearts debut at just 19. Last weekend he watched Jason Holt make an impression at the same age when he scored in his first start for the club against St Johnstone. There is set to be a greater emphasis on youth next season as cut-backs continue. “Jason is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Webster. “I can see there is a lot of talent here from training day in and day out with these players. But it’s also up to the older players to try and help them.”