Mcinnes hits out at Levein

DEREK MCINNES last night slaughtered “irrational” and “childish” Craig Levein for calling him a d**k.

But the Hearts boss hit back by saying Mcinnes was out of order as their bitter spat escalated.

The Aberdeen manager erupted in the wake of his side’s 4-3 loss to Celtic.

Mcinnes was stunned at Levein’s choice of language and version of events following the pair’s recent disagreement over refereeing decisions.

Mcinnes said: “I have been in the game a long time and I find the reaction to what I said about Hearts strange.

“I find it irrational and childish. Is the language strange? I think people can make their own opinions on that.

“I find it really disappointing from someone who has done so much in the game and who I have the highest of regard for.

“Craig has intimated that I phoned him and is trying to cast aspersions. Let’s be clear about this. He phoned me.

“He said I was crying my eyes out, but who made the call? He was the one complaining and he hasn’t stopped moaning since.

“We played Rangers and then next day I was on the school run when the phone rang and it was Craig.

“It was a private phone call and he has put it into the public domain.

“He said to me: What are we going to do about these referees? My reaction to that was you carry on your crusade, but, for me, over 11 years as a manager, you don’t get any benefit from criticising refs.

“The call came from Craig, which I found surprising because he’s not someone I normally speak to.

“There was distortion of what happened.”