Pressure rises at Hearts as team counts cost of giving away leads to rivals

The Hearts squad prepare for Wednesday's match against Livingston at Tynecastle.

Heading into the final minutes of Sunday’s match against Rangers, Hearts thought they had done enough. But a penalty and then a stoppage time winner from Danilo sent the capital side back along the M8 in a miserable mood.

“There’s anger and frustration when you first initially walk into the changing room and then it goes pretty quiet,” explained Kye Rowles. “Being in training, you just get around each other again and try to lift the spirits.

“Obviously it just pops into your head here and then, and it kind of angers you because we were so close with such a good performance and it just takes three minutes to throw it away. It feels like we’ve done that twice now. So, it’s not good but we’re ready to bounce back.”

There was the game against PAOK, earlier in the season, when they threw away a lead in the dying minutes. In the end that one did not matter as the away result dominated the aggregate scoreline but domestically, Rowles is right to point to an issue that has now reared its head twice in three games. Twice against teams who are seen as major rivals. And, if once is a chance, twice is coincidence, then they want to avoid a third, which could be deemed a pattern.

Steven Naismith oversees Hearts training at Oriam.

Having thrown away a derby lead, in a game they could and probably should have killed off by half-time, the late, late show at Ibrox was a blow but it is something the players and manager are aware of and something they say they are addressing ahead of Livingston’s arrival at Tynecastle on Wednesday evening and the trip to Hampden on Sunday for the Rangers rematch, this time in the League Cup semi-final.

“We did so well in the performance, and how we set up, and how the game played out - everything we worked on,” said manager Steven Naismith. “But it’s fine margins. There are loads of positives and we will use them later in the week but it is the two quick goals in quick succession, similar to the derby, these really small mentality things.

“You will not go to a tougher place than Glasgow when they get a goal and a bit of momentum. I have been there and experienced it and the crowd drives it forward but you have got to be smart in those moments. It is a question of whether we could have done better? The answer is we probably could have in some moments.

“I think it’s a combination of things because what happens with Rangers in the 85th minute is that they are losing 1-0 so they overcommit and give you more opportunities if you can win the ball and make some passes. So, while you don’t work on that specifically because you don’t know what things will be and how it is going to work out, you do have to understand that if we have the ball and they’ve not got it then they can’t win the game.

“The last goal is one where I don’t think we lost a header in the box the whole 90 minutes, we defended our box really well at times and it was just that one moment. Could we have put more pressure on the ball before it comes into the box? Then there was just one guy in the box so could the dynamic have been different within that, could we have blocked the guy out and let the ball go out the pitch? So, it is a hard one. But it is just about having a focus on what’s needed because when you are at the side of the park, you can’t get the instruction on and you are relying on the guys on the pitch to understand and make the right decision and see the game out.”

The match against Livingston gives the Gorgie side the chance to head back onto the front foot and attempt to get back to winning ways after the derby draw and those back to back Old Firm defeats. While conceding late goals have hurt them in recent weeks, they have also come up with last gasp wins – against Rosenborg on European duty, thanks to Cammy Devlin and against Kilmarnock in the League Cup, when Alex Lowry booked the Tynecastle side’s Hampden spot. And getting their minds back on the task in hand has been simple, according to the gaffer.

“It’s easy because we have gone two league defeats in a row and we know that is not the level we want to be at, that’s not the level of expectation here,” said Naismith. “With it being a home game, the game can go one of two ways and if we are slow and it is a slow start to the game then the atmosphere and the dynamic within the stadium changes. But if we start fast and we are playing in their half then we give the crowd something to be confident about. That’s really important. But we can’t look any further on from this game because we need a win. We want a win and this is a good chance to get one.”

With pressure rising, on the manager and the players, externally, there is also pressure from within, as the likes of Craig Gordon and Craig Halkett get closer to rejoining the match day squad and Barrie McKay returns to training ground running. “With every week that passes more boys are getting closer to being fit, more are fit, and the competition for places is there. The team at the weekend did really really well but the team that plays against Livingston will face a different game and then on Sunday the dynamic will be slightly different again. So there is competition for places.”

Lowry is free to return after sitting out the match against his parent club at the weekend, and Odel Offiah and Toby Sibbick have trained.