‘We knew deep down that we have it in us’ says Hearts’ Craig Halkett

Two swallows do not make a summer, cautioned Hearts boss Craig Levein on Wednesday night, paraphrasing the well-known idiom to remind everyone that Hearts’ revival remains a work in progress.

Craig Halkett celebrates his equaliser in added time which rescued Hearts from Betfred Cup defeat by Aberdeen on Wednesday. Picture: SNS.

But in the past week his team have taken two huge steps forward, answering doubts about their willingness and ability to battle through the flak.

Visibly cowed by the Tynecastle crowd’s response to a disappointing start to the season, too many were shirking onfield responsibility and it left them bottom of the Premiership table and their manager fighting to justify his job.

But defender Craig Halkett insists the doubts that plagued those looking in did not penetrate the dressing-room walls.

“Behind closed doors and as a squad we are really, really strong and we all knew deep down that we have it in us,” he said. “It was all about getting that first win and then kicking on and hopefully we can now do that.”

After two draws and three defeats, Hearts finally got that initial league victory at the weekend and the fact that it came against rivals Hibs, on their patch, having fought back from losing the opening goal, won them some kudos as well as the three points. It also catapulted them up the table and provided a timely boost ahead of the midweek Betfred Cup quarter-final against Aberdeen.

Once again they gifted their opponents the advantage, not once but twice throughout the fiercely-contested tie. But, proving just how strong the desire and the belief actually is within the group, they fought back again and again. The way they went about it lifted the mood in the stadium and earned the vocal support of the home fans, who in recent matches had instead provided a backing soundtrack of groans and boos.

Having netted a late, late equaliser and seen out extra time, they held their nerve while their opponents buckled in the penalty shoot-out.

“It it shows that we do have that determination,” stated Halkett, the man who tapped into his old striker’s instincts and rose to head home the last-gasp leveller. “We sat down before the derby on Sunday and said it was important to not just win the derby but to kick on from that and try to win two, three, four games after that and build on that.

“So, as much as the derby was important for the fans and the club, it was really important to also get the win against Aberdeen and get to a semi final.

“We started really fast and once you get this crowd behind you, it’s amazing. It was a great atmosphere and it really does help.

“It was different from previous weeks when the crowd have shown their frustration, rightly so, but the manager said it was important for us to come out and get going fast because he knows that this crowd will get on our side and he knows that can affect the opposition. We did that on Wednesday.”

The focus returns to league matters on Saturday as they travel to Paisley to face St Mirren but also have a longer-term plan to defy more doubters. This time the people have written off their chances of the Gorgie side bettering Rangers in the semi-finals and have instead already pencilled in an Old Firm Betfred Cup final.

“When you get to the semi-finals, you are not going there just to take part, you want to go there to win and this squad is really, really strong and we know that on our day, if we can perform well, I think we can beat anyone,” said Halkett.