PREMIERSHIP

BY GORDON PARKS JOHN SOUTTAR insists Craig Levein’s legacy at Dundee United should bring comfort to Hearts fans ahead of next season.

A run of just two wins from their last 10 games has had disgruntled Jambos voicing their discontent.

But former Tannadice kid Souttar is convinced his Tynecastle boss will prove patience is a virtue.

He said: “Of course I feel for the fans, it has been a tough season for them overall.

“But I’m sure if you offered them this three or four years ago – when the club was toiling – they’d have bitten your hand off.

“I’m sure the majority will have a perspective and will trust the gaffer’s plans. You saw what he did at Dundee United and how long it took.

“You saw what happened there. He came in and changed the whole set-up. It probably wasn’t until he was away that the club benefited from that.

‘“I’m sure that’s what’s going to happen here.

‘“They just need to be patient. I’m sure years down the line they will be looking back thinking it was worth the wait.”

Back-to-back defeats to Aberdeen and Rangers have been marked by lacklustre performances and Souttar admits an impressive 2-0 win over the Pittodrie side three weeks ago now feels like ancient history.

He said: “It’s tough to go from one extreme to another.

“How we played against Aberdeen at home and dominated them for 90 minutes – to be dominated the same last Friday.

“Aberdeen are probably asking themselves exactly the same question we are just now. It’s hard to put a finger on what exactly is the problem but they will probably have felt the same way after we beat them 2-0 at Tynecastle.”

Hearts are in mid-table no man’s land with sixth place all but confirmed but Souttar insists they aren’t in holiday mode just yet.

The defender said: “Of course it’s hard to keep going when there’s not much to play for.

“On Friday we were up against a side fighting for second – where we want to be –but we’re due it to the fans and to the club to keep going. We still have three big games and we have to get results from them. “We’ll want to draw a line under it at the end of the season but we’ll want to go into the next campaign and give it a massive push.” Having to leave Tynecastle for Murrayfield during the main stand’s redevelopment could be held up as a mitigating circumstance for the failings of this campaign. But Souttar is determined to