Hearts 0 - 2 Dundee Utd: Lacklustre Hearts undone by United

IN JANUARY last year, Hearts embarked upon a poor run of form which saw their hold on third place threatened and eventually cost Jim Jefferies his job.

This year, their results have followed a similar pattern, with the significant difference that it is their place in the top six, not just the top three, which is in jeopardy.

So, will Paulo Sergio lose his job? The Portuguese manager is only contracted for the season, and although he has declared his fondness for the club and for Edinburgh, in recent weeks he has appeared disillusioned.

He has stated several times that no-one has a right to demand that Hearts finish in the top four after the problems they have had this season, and he is certainly correct when he points out that financial circumstances have not been ideal. Last week, Craig Beattie became the club’s first signing since Sergio was appointed in the summer, and the former Celtic striker was not available for Saturday’s game because of a virus.

There were other mitigating circumstances in this defeat by United. Hearts began it without the excluded Marian Kello, the suspended Andy Webster and the injured Adrian Mrowiec, and by half-time had lost Marius Zaliukas and Ian Black to injury. In other words, the spine of their team, weakened to start with, had gone entirely by the mid-point of the match.

And yet there are many managers who would love to have the “problems” of which Sergio complains. They could do without the difficulties in paying salaries on time, but they would gladly have a squad as strong as the one at Tynecastle, even when those absences are taken into account.

So why, when that squad achieved five wins and a draw in six matches from December, have they now taken just one point – from a last-minute equaliser at Kilmarnock – from their last five? They put up a spirited display to win the Scottish Cup replay at St Johnstone, but their last really convincing win was at home to St Mirren, two weeks into the new year.

There is a growing conviction within the club that the previous excellent form was largely thanks to the players’ ability to put their off-field worries to one side and concentrate on reminding the outside world of how good they could be. Once such a sense of purpose begins to flag, as it did on a freezing afternoon at Inverness last month, it is up to the management team to find ways of restoring it.

At least Hearts began this match with some conviction, taking the game to United and playing some attractive football for much of the first half. But once they went a goal down just before the interval, when Jon Daly headed in a free-kick from the left, they were always going to be up against it.

Better organised, particularly at the back, United were able to play on the counter-attack, knowing their opponents would be unable to create many clear-cut chances. Gavin Gunning’s goal from another free header, this time following a corner, had been on the cards for a good 15 minutes before it arrived, and produced a result which was a fair reflection of the visitors’ superiority.

Before that second goal, there were two moments which might have turned the match around. First, Danny Grainger went down in the box following a challenge by Willo Flood, but referee Calum Murray refused to award a penalty.

Then Rudi Skacel was through on goal, but twice had shots blocked by Dusan Pernis, before Stephen Elliott’s attempt to hit home the rebound was blocked by Gunning.

On a frustrating afternoon for the home support, David Obua was the focus for much of the discontent, but a number of Hearts players were just as culpable of being ineffectual. Grainger’s energetic runs made him an exception; Scott Robinson led the team well after taking the captain’s armband from Zaliukas, and substitute Ryan McGowan also applied himself to some effect, but too many others were too easily demotivated.

Sergio’s other substitutions were questionable. Suso Santana and Andrew Driver, both wide players in a team which included Mehdi Taouil, were brought off the bench when the need was for more force in central midfield.

Denis Prychynenko and Jason Holt, both members of last season’s successful under-19 team, could have provided that force. They are inexperienced and may well have been unable to turn the game, but their introduction would have given Hearts a far better balance.

United had that balance, and as a consequence played far better as a team. Their third league win of the season against Hearts took them above the Edinburgh club into fifth, and on this form they are sure to be ahead of St Johnstone – whom they beat 5-1 two weeks ago – before long.

Hearts, for all the woes expressed by Sergio, should also finish above the Perth club, provided that between coaching staff and players they rediscover the spark they had around Christmas. With league games against Rangers and Hibs coming up, and a cup quarter-final against St Mirren in the middle, the next three weeks will determine whether they have an exciting climax to the season to look forward to, or whether that season will come to a premature and demoralising end.

If the latter, Sergio will be gone sooner rather than later. And even if his team does start winning again and he is asked to stay for a second season, a serious question will remain about the manager’s stomach for the fight.