DUNNE’S AT THE NOISE UP

CRAIG SWAN

BY CRAIG SWAN HEARTS defender Jimmy Dunne has refused to make a big noise about being struck by a pitchside microphone.

The Tynecastle centre-back, left, was involved in a bizarre incident as his side sank the Dons to extend their lead at the top of the Premiership.

Dunne crashed to the deck after appearing to be hit by an object thrown at him by an individual

JIMMY DUNNE has warned their title rivals Hearts won’t be easily knocked off top spot.

Big questions were asked of the Premiership league leaders at the weekend.

Hearts needed to respond to their first defeat of the season to Rangers in their previous outing and also cope with some huge injury blows.

Defender John Souttar and striker Uche Ikpeazu joining skipper Christophe Berra on the long-term crock list heaped the pressure on the Jambos but they did not wilt.

Dunne and his colleagues blew Aberdeen away in a brilliant first-half performance and, when the Reds roared back after the restart, showed guts to fight their way over the line.

The defender joined in the raucous celebrations at the end at Tynecastle as he savoured a win in the face of adversity he feels sends out a clear message c.swan@dailyrecord.co.uk Hearts won’t just step aside in the weeks ahead.

Craig Levein’s men can extend their advantage to six points tomorrow night with a win at Dundee.

Dunne said: “We’re not going to be pushed over. The good run we’ve had isn’t a coincidence. That’s a lot of wins now.

“We’re really starting to take shape and we’re not easily pushed over. We showed that. Aberdeen was tough, a scrappy game.

“We started really well, which gave us a great chance, but they changed how they played in the second half, caused us a few problems and the game got scrappy again.

“We showed unbelievable character to see it out and stay on top. That was an example of what we can do, both sides of our game. We played some good football, I think anyone would agree.

“When it got scrappy and we had to just fight to stop them from scoring and do all the ugly bits, we did it better than them.

“That’s important in this league because it’s not all pretty. That’s going to take us a long way.

“We don’t really look at the league table because it’s early days. We know we’re top. That’s all we need to know. The