Levein orders his team to placate angry Hearts fans

CRAIG LEVEIN is adamant he would never criticise Hearts fans for venting their fury — and insists the onus is on the players, rather than the supporters, to lift the mood at Tynecastle. There was a toxic atmosphere as Levein’s side played out a bleak 2-2 home draw against Hamilton in their last Premiership outing. It ensured Hearts boast just four league wins in the whole of 2019 and the full-time whistle was met with a cacophony of jeers and chants of ‘Craig Levein, we want you to go’ from the Main Stand. However, Levein has defended the fans’ right to call for his head. ‘I would never ask the supporters to blindly support a team,’ he said. ‘If we are not performing to the levels that we should then, in some ways, I quite like the fact we have to learn to handle that. ‘We need to handle that type of pressure at home. ‘You need to feel the downside to feel the benefit of the upside. ‘I would ask the fans to keep doing what they are doing. Some people will support and some people will be unhappy, depending on circumstances. ‘I would never criticise any of them. ‘It is our job, myself, the players, coaching staff to win games, particularly at home. ‘You won’t hear me having a go at any of them — in fact, I agree with them. ‘Keep doing what you are doing and we will try to get better; that’s the message to the fans.’ Ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Motherwell, Levein conceded the calls for him to quit felt ‘personal’ but he is happy to shoulder that burden if it means less pressure on his players. ‘It is just the way society is,’ he said. ‘That is what it is like now. It is personal but I can’t afford to take it personally. ‘I am the one who puts the team out on the field and I would rather take criticism personally than have it affect the players. ‘I want Tynecastle to be a hostile place for visiting teams — but to ensure that it is the visiting team feeling the pressure, we need to perform at a certain level.’