THIS was not the send-off from Tynecastle that Hearts wanted, but it was perhaps appropriate. And it is equally fitting that all that remains of this season for them now is an away fixture against Gretna. It promises to be a suitably low-key and sombre occasion.
It could also be Gretna's last game – but how much more certain is Hearts' future? "Now we wait for the Gretna game, which we'll be going out to win," said Stevie Frail as he reflected on this 2-0 home defeat to Kilmarnock. But he struggled to muste
r enthusiasm, noting the "apathy" that afflicted his players during their final home game of an uninspired season.
For Kilmarnock, who have also endured a difficult season, the victory offered "a wee lift", as Jim Jefferies put it. "We didn't cause them any problems at all in the first half," noted Jefferies, "but in the second half we played really well. We started to pass it better and we were the better team all round."
One of Jefferies' best players was Paul Dalglish, whose cross set up the 82nd-minute second goal for Paul Di Giacomo, who'd come on as a substitute 12 minutes earlier. Dalglish was a danger on the right wing all afternoon, a powerful runner who supplied consistently threatening crosses, and Jefferies now has to decide whether to extend his stay at Rugby Park into next season. "I'll not be deciding anything until the last game," said Jefferies. "But we definitely need some fresh blood in."
Di Giacomo's goal finished the game, coming after Grant Murray's header, on 74 minutes, stunned the home supporters.
Hearts had chances in the first half but Frail was honest enough in his assessment not to blame the defeat on bad luck. "We had possession, but without hurting them," said the Hearts coach. "We had half chances. But we didn't do enough when we had the ball to really hurt them.
"When the first goal goes in you know it's going to be a long haul," he continued. "Then they get the second one, and that sums up the whole season. There has been a lot more fight in the squad, but we seem to have lost it. I'm not going to openly criticise the players because there has been a vast improvement since January. But it's disappointing the way the season is petering out."
As for the future, with Hearts still rumoured to be looking for an experienced manager to take over, Frail is unsure what the club's owner, Vladimir Romanov, is planning. "I've never sought assurances from Mr Romanov," said Frail. "I've just tried to do my best. I treat every game like my last, just as I did as a player. You've got to do that."
Such an approach means that Frail hasn't thought too much about what changes need to be made to Hearts' playing staff. "A lot of players are on long contracts," he noted.
"But we need an overhaul of the whole squad. That might not mean bringing in bundles of players, because we've gone down that road before, but bringing in good players to help the kids. Guys like (Jason] Thomson and (Gary] Glen – we need experienced players who can come in and help these guys develop."
For Hearts the pain continues, but Jefferies, whose Kilmarnock team could still finish third-bottom, rather than second-bottom in the SPL, is praying it might be over. "I'm hoping the pain of this season might be a driving force next season," said Jefferies. "We don't want to go through that again."
The full article contains 610 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
