DON’T BLAME ME
Dan dismisses derby doing due to Christmas getaway
DEFIANT Daniel Stendel insists his Christmas return to Germany wasn’t to blame for Hearts’ wretched derby defeat to Hibs.
The German wouldn’t explain the reasons why he flew home days before his side’s Tynecastle loss but refuted the notion his players having Christmas Day off was a factor.
Martin Boyle’s first-half double gave Hibs a second win at Hearts this year, gaining revenge for their defeat to the Jambos at Easter Road in September.
Questions were asked when it emerged Stendel wouldn’t be taking training in the days leading up to the Boxing Day fixture having arranged to fly home, returning to Edinburgh on Christmas Day. The players
were given Christmas Day off but it didn’t inspire them to victory over their rivals.
Stendel said: “I cannot and will not explain (reason for going back to Germany), it was long before I signed here.
“I want to help and I’m sure I can help this club and Ann Budge. I know it’s a difficult situation but when you see the game it was not the reason we did not win.
“You think it’s the reason we didn’t win today? I think no. In the end when you win you can say anything and it’s all right, when you lose it’s all bad.
“I take the responsibility for the decisions and I take the responsibility for the game but some things I cannot change. I cannot play, I cannot score, I cannot defend.
“We tried to improve and I think you can see some players are improving and some players maybe not. I hope we can change some things but at the moment we need to work hard and change the result on Sunday.
“If we play like we did in the second half I cannot believe that we do not win in the next games.
“What we did in the second half is what I expected from my team in all the games. But we were 2-0 behind.
“We had some good chances but the feeling is, ‘Can we really score a goal?’ With Steven Naismith and Conor Washington we have two strikers who have proved in the past they can score goals but at the moment we don’t have those players.”
Jack Ross hailed the impact of Boyle up front with Christian Doidge.
The Hibs boss said: “Martin’s been really good since I came into the job. I was fortunate that coincided with his return to full fitness.
“We have used him in different roles. Today was the first time we have used him through the middle. We thought that would suit what we would come up against.”
Hibs have launched an investigation after a bottle was thrown by their fans. A Hibs statement said: “If CCTV shows a bottle was thrown by a person from the Hibs end we will provide any cooperation required. Throwing missiles is completely
unacceptable.”