The only way is up for lacklustre Hearts

JIM REYNOLDS

5 Nov 1990

HEARTS chairman Wallace Mercer sacked a club steward on Saturday for standing on the touchline with his hands in his pockets after the 1-1 draw with Dunfermline.

If it wasn't for the fact that they had contracts, some of his players may have been feeling a little insecure in the knowledge that their efforts on the park for a good part of the afternoon were even less industrious.

The Tynecastle slump continues despite fair European success, and new manager Joe Jordan must be wondering just what he has let himself in for as he studies the premier-division table and sees his side stuck on the bottom rung with only two wins from 11 matches.

Yet for the first 25 minutes against Dunfermline Hearts looked as if they had turned the corner.

An early goal from John Colquhoun had given them a huge confidence boost and they had the Fifers in all sorts of trouble.

Henry Smith, playing his 350th league match in goal for Hearts, must have felt like the birthday boy when no-one turned up for his party -- he was lonely.

Things went steadily downhill for Jordan's men.

The sparkle disappeared, a lethargy set in which even spread to the fans, and the Tynecastle silence was a more scathing criticism than any cries of derision would have been.

The booing was saved until near the end when it looked as if Hearts might even lose a match they should have had well won from the early stages.

"We paid the penalty for missed chances," said a morose Jordan afterwards.

The problem, however, lies deeper than that.

In the main these are the same players who have battled like tigers over the last couple of seasons.

The required rocket may now have arrived in the shape of Jordan's new No.2, Frank Connor from Raith Rovers.

While Jordan is getting himself fully acquainted with the Scottish scene Connor, by example, will get home to the players that there will be no mercy shown to slackers in his place of work.

Having now hit the bottom there is only one way for Hearts to go and that is up.

I have absolutely no doubts that this will be the case.

Key players have to come in when they recover from injury and the embarrassment of holding up the table will surely help rekindle the spirit among the rest.

Very few Hearts men earned pass marks at the weekend but exempt from criticism must be the lively Wayne Foster upfront and Davie Kirkwood, bought as a midfield player but now filling in at right back and making a good job of it.

Players with more talent would do well to take an example from this pair.

Dunfermline must have been chuckling all the way back over the bridge on Saturday night.

They saved a point with a beautiful Norrie McCathie header after 69 minutes -- only his second goal in the premier division -- but must have known the game should have been outwith their reach by that point.

Mind you, as Hearts went from bad to worse the Fifers could well have won the match.

Paul Smith, in particular, will be feeling rather guilty after having missed two glorious chances in the closing stages.

Explaining Dunfermline's nervous start to the game manager Iain Munro, while acknowledging that his players showed a more positive attitude than they have done of late, said that they seemed to be putting themselves under needless pressure.

He said: "I know we haven't done ourselves real justice this season.

We haven't played as well as I know we can and I think you can put that down to nerves, brought about by players putting themselves under pressure.

"My goodness, there shouldn't be any pressure on players.

They are on contracts -- they don't get sacked.

The only person under pressure at the club should be me because I stand or fall by the results, but that is something I can handle."

One positive thing to emerge from Saturday is that Dunfermline have done themselves a power of good by signing Billy Davies from Leicester City.

He was the most accomplished player in the midfield at Tynecastle and when he fully settles in with his new team-mates he could prove to be the bargain buy of the season.

Taken from the Herald