Lennon to ‘consider his future’
● Hibs boss lambasts players after derby defeat ● Levein delight as win denies city rivals second place
Neil Lennon last night threatened to walk away from Hibs in the summer following the 2-1 derby defeat by Hearts at Tynecastle which blew his side’s chances of finishing second in the Premiership.
The Easter Road head coach was furious with the performance which leaves Hibs in fourth place. They play thirdplaced Rangers on Sunday and must win 6-0 to overhaul the Ibrox side. Aberdeen, currently second, are four points ahead of Hibs and out of reach with one round of games left.
“We threw it away. Unprofessional. Not good enough,” fumed Lennon, unhappy that his players failed to heed his pre-match advice. “We look like we’re going to finish fourth, which is unacceptable to me.
“I will be considering my position over the summer. Just in general. I know my own personal aims and ambitions and I can’t watch that in derbies. It’s not good enough. I don’t know. We’ve got a board meeting next week. So we’ll see.”
It was only the Leith side’s second defeat in the last 12 derbies and Lennon’s threat to quit will come as a major blow to a fanbase already nursing concerns about the way a bright season is ending. Only the top three are guaranteed European football next term but the fourth-placed side will also qualify for the Europa League if Celtic beat Motherwell in the Scottish Cup final.
“Nothing lasts forever,” added Lennon. “I’ve been here two years, made great strides. But I’ve got to think about myself. Maybe I’m a bit over-emotional but fourth isn’t good enough. The players have reached standards. But they’re a bit short tonight.
“We had a great opportunity to go into Sunday with everything to play for and credit Hearts, they played the way we knew they would play. But we did not meet the challenge.”
He said that with key performers like Dylan Mcgeouch likely to depart in the summer, there was a rebuilding job to be done and he remains unsure if he is the man to oversee that.
“I don’t feel I’ve taken this club as far as I can,” Lennon added. “But do I want to do it? I have to think about that. It will come down to a lot. The squad is going to be different. We’ve a lot of work to do, obviously. But we’re not moving in the direction, the right way, at the minute.”
For Hearts, it was a chance to get one over on their rivals and prove that, despite league positions, they remain a major player.
After the last derby Lennon had insisted that the massive points differential rendered the Gorgie side “irrelevant” but Hearts manager Craig Levein said his men had made a mockery of that statement.
“We’ve put them out of the Scottish Cup and stopped them being second. Is that irrelevant?” asked Levein.
“It rated pretty highly to be honest. I had been frustrated by the way things have gone this season so it is important to send fans away happy after last home game.”
For all the “mind the gap” digs that have been directed at Hearts this term by their city rivals, the Gorgie side still managed to inflict suffering on Hibernian.
Heralded as big-game players, Kyle Lafferty and Steven Naismith delivered on a night when Hearts were desperate to send their fans home happy after the final game of the season at Tynecastle.
Hibs were left out of contention for second place in the Premiership and needing to beat Rangers by a hatful of goals on Sunday to even salvage third.
For Hearts there was only pride at stake with points meaningless to them at this late stage of the season, with their finishing position already set in stone.
However, even just a share of the spoils was vitally important to rivals Hibs. Heading into their final two games Neil Lennon’s men knew that a minimum of four points were required if they were to fulfil their ambition of finishing second in their first term back in the Premiership. Anything less would leave them with one heck of a battling for third place and the last of the automatic European qualifying places on Sunday.
With only one defeat in the past 11 capital derbies, the belief was high amongst the Hibs players and fans. A beach ball was passed around the away end as the sides emerged from the tunnel, a symbol of the foreign trips they were already anticipating.
But Hearts have proved party poopers before. In 2014, Hibs fans turned up at Tynecastle expecting a celebration, confident that they would get the win needed to relegate their neighbours. They failed and although Hearts did ultimately go down, the 2-0 defeat that day contributed to Hibs joining Hearts in the second tier via the play-offs.
So while Hibs will end the season well ahead of Craig Levein’s men, Hearts maintained their home advantage in oneoff tussles at Tynecastle.
It is five years since the Easter Road side last won in Gorgie and that victory, in May 2013, is their only one in the past 16 head to heads there.
For Hearts, this was another hard-fought triumph as they broke up Hibs’ play and out fought them all over the pitch.
Without their usual rhythm, the Leith side were unable to gain control of proceedings and impose the passing play and sweeping moves that have proved the undoing of so many team this term.
Instead, young Harry Cochrane pulled the strings in midfield for Hearts, where Lennon’s men have been so strong this season.
It was Lafferty and Naismith who combined for the opening goal, although the Hibs defence will be unhappy with the part they played in it.
Lewis Stevenson was seemingly unaware of the Northern Ireland striker at his back as he failed to clear the on-loan Naismith’s pass across the box and, although Paul Hanlon tried to react, he could not prevent Lafferty stabbing a leftfoot shot past Ofir Marciano.
Hibs got back into the game just three minutes after the break. Joaquim Adao slipped as he tried to clear and, struggling to make amends, upended Stevenson as the Hibs leftback burst on to the ball. Referee Craig Thomson pointed to the spot.
Jamie Maclaren had missed a penalty at Aberdeen on Saturday and, with the Australian on the bench, there was no opportunity for him to redeem himself.
Instead on-loan Swiss striker Florian Kamberi took the responsibility and was more clinical, levelling the score to put Hibs’ bid for second place back on the table.
But, having been told by Easter Road boss Neil Lennon that they were “irrelevant” after the last derby, which Hibs won 2-0 at home, Hearts were determined to prove they were anything but.
They regained the lead in the 57th minute after Hanlon had felled Lafferty near the righthand corner of the Hibs box.
Teenager Cochrane took the free-kick and, as the ball zipped into the goalmouth, it was the experienced Naismith who got his head on it to glance home beyond the helpless Marciano.
Now back in front, there was little chance of Hearts conceding anything to their guests and they proved to be defensively solid, repelling every attack.
Hibs were also hampered by the early departure of winger Martin Boyle, leaving Brandon Barker as the main attacking outlet and he was well marshalled by a dogged and shrewd Michael Smith.
After a long slog in an admirable season, it has all seemed just a few games too far for Lennon’s men as their hopes of second place have ebbed away.
Last night, they ran up against a brick wall and ran out of ideas. They did throw everything at it, with Lennon sending on striker Maclaren for defender Hanlon then pushing Darren Mcgregor up front in the latter stages as they tried to salvage something – anything. But there was huge disappointment at the ramifications of the result among the visiting support at the final whistle, while the jubilant home fans lauded their heroes.
HEARTS: Mclaughlin, M Smith, Hughes, Berra, Mitchell, Naismith, Adao, Cochrane (Callachan 84), Amankwaa (Cowie 69), Lafferty, Milinkovic (Mcdonald 89). Subs not used: J Hamilton, Moore, Henderson, C Hamilton. HIBERNIAN: Marciano, Ambrose, Mcgregor, Hanlon (Maclaren 68), Boyle (Mcgeouch 41), S Allan (Slivka 78), Whittaker, Mcginn, Stevenson, Barker, Kamberi. Subs not used: Swanson, Bell, Bartley, Shaw.