New deal for undroppable Dunne close says Levein
● Naismith injury has hit team hard ● Boss bemoans run of bad luck
Hearts manager Craig Levein will make room in his team for in-form Jimmy Dunne even when skipper Christophe Berra makes his return from injury.
Levein revealed an agreement “in principle” to extend the centre-back’s loan until the end of the season had been struck after talks with Burnley boss Sean Dyche.
The 21-year-old has impressed since moving to Tynecastle in the summer.
He has started all 13 games since his arrival and received his first Republic of Ireland call-up earlier this month.
Dunne was signed as a replacement for Berra when the captain suffered a hamstring tear that was expected to rule him out for up to six months.
Dunne was due back at Turf Moor next month and Levein had said he would only consider stretching his loan out until May if he could guarantee him enough game time.
But the manager now says there is no way he can leave him out, even if Berra does make an incredible return three months early.
Levein said: “Jimmy’s done that well that I’d find a place for him.
“I’ve spoken to Sean at Burnley and we’re going to speak again in January.
“In principle we felt it was quite a good idea for him to prolong his stay here.”
Four matches since Steven Naismith hobbled off, and four matches without a goal, let alone a win. For a Hearts squad that has proved adept at rolling with the blows this term and still been able to punch above their weight, they now need to prove their resilience once again.
After 13 games without defeat, they bounced back from their maiden loss, with solid victories over Aberdeen and Dundee. But, while they battled to absorb the injuryenforced absence of club captain Christophe Berra, John Souttar and Uche Ikpeazu, losing Naismith, while not perhaps denting their resolve, has rocked them.
The recent international break took them two weeks closer to welcoming their stalwarts back, but until Berra can resume on-field leadership duties at the beginning of next month and Naismith returns to the fold in a matter of weeks, manager Craig Levein is hoping that the trip to Paisley this weekend will give the rest of the squad the opportunity to prove their ability to carve out wins in difficult circumstances.
“That’s vital,” said Levein. “When we played Aberdeen and Dundee before the cup match, we managed to win both of those and I thought we were very unfortunate not to win the Hibs game. And I also thought it was a bit of a smash and grab [win] by Kilmarnock
last time. But the key thing is still finding ways of winning, even when we don’t have our best players – and also when we’re not playing particularly well. I’m not saying we’re not playing well. I think we’re playing really well just now. But that’s the challenge.”
Naismith leaves a gaping void, though. Not only is the Scotland striker the club’s top scorer this season with 11 goals, he has been an inspirational talisman on the park and a key reason Hearts were the early Premiership leaders until Celtic hit their stride.
Added to the loss of Ikpeazu and considered in the context of the competition in recent matches, and it is understandable that goals have proved harder to come by recently. “With such high profile players, I can’t not talk about them,” said Levein. “And it’s not just their play, it’s their influence on the team. It’s also the other teams looking at our lineup
and seeing Naismith, Souttar, Christophe, big Uche who has been a big plus for us, all missing. So, once those players come back, we’ll get two things. We’ll get the football benefit – and we’ll also get the benefit of other teams thinking: ‘Uh-oh, we’ve got a tough game today.’ The challenge for all of us is picking up points in the meantime.”
Against relegation contenders St Mirren others will have to step up and end the fourgame goal drought.
Levein added: “I don’t think it’s a lack of belief. We just haven’t been clinical enough. It’s an opportunity for Steven Maclean, Craig Wighton and the other attack-minded players to step up for the foreseeable
future. There’s some really goodthingsincraigwighton’s game but he’s got into some bad habits and we speak about how we can improve them. We push him really hard because I don’t want to see him not get to where he should be.”
Sean Clare is another who is being asked to deliver. The 22-year-old will be included again tomorrow, with Levein confident he is ready to shine.
“He’s got a lot more to give. I see quite a lot of things in training that make me feel good and he’s at the point I’m ready to start him. As well as getting him up to full speed, I want him to be able to help and contribute to victories. He’s slowly adjusting to a slightly different type of football.”
“I don’t think it’s a lack of belief. We just haven’t been clinical enough. It’s an opportunity for others to step up”
CRAIG LEVEIN