SMITH’S MESSAGE TO PALS
as Smith added: “We have players who can do it on the training pitch.
“I see players wanting the ball but when it comes to a Saturday it’s a different story.
“I’m not saying we can’t do it but we need a change of mentality and to be a bit braver.
“We talk about it ourselves and we drive each other. We’ve got good experienced players like Steven Naismith and Glenn Whelan who dig people out. That’s exactly what we need at the minute, that’s how you get the most out of people.
“At the minute we are in a relegation battle, 100 per cent. There’s no ifs or buts about it.
“If you look at our performances our performances have been very poor. The only way to get out of it is to work hard on the training pitch.”
Smith revealed sacked boss Levein spoke to the squad on Friday, just 24 hours after suffering the axe.
The 31-year-old Northern Ireland international was signed by Levein two years ago and admits he was devastated to see him go.
MacPhee stepped in as caretaker for the semi-final and could well be in the dugout again for the pivotal home clash with Saints on Saturday.
And the defender is convinced MacPhee has the qualities to manage the Jambos long term.
Asked if the squad had the chance to say goodbye to Levein, Smith said: “He came the day after he was relieved of his duties and he thanked us for our efforts. Basically, he just said he still believes in us and that we can get out of this and he wished us good luck for the future.
“For me, I was gutted he was gone because we never repaid him for what he did for us. He brought us here and, personally, established me as a regular international player. I was gutted he left.”
And on MacPhee’s credentials for the top job, Smith said: “He’s a really thorough man.
“The last two training days we have done a lot of work and the boys have enjoyed it. We came here with a game plan but it’s down to the players to execute that game plan. We never did that and it is so disappointing.
“We tried to stay high up the pitch and they probably knew that, and switched it about a bit and started causing problems.
“After that it was backs to the walls and once they scored it was really hard for us to get something from the game.
“We were backs to the wall pretty much the whole first 45 minutes and that was disappointing.
“That was not the way we wanted the game to go. We were keeping them out then one lapse of concentration and they score.
“From then on in it was hard for us to get anything with the way Rangers were controlling the game.
“Austin said the same – we were poor. But we have a massive game coming up and that will be our focus.” and Steven just had to come off a couple of minutes before that.
“We planned to add Jamie Walker and Steven Naismith to the team later on as they’re returning from injury, as well as having have Uche strong at the end of the game but I had to introduce him early.
“We then lost the opener and also Michael, as well as Glenn earlier.
“The team could have gone under at 3-0 down but they stuck to it. The focus is on Saturday now – it’s a massive game for us against St Mirren and we need a good attacking performance.
“Everyone is disappointed we lost the semi-final but it doesn’t change anything. The players, myself and staff must focus on being as well prepared as possible to take three points as we haven’t won at Tynecastle in a while.”
MacPhee will have discussions with Hearts owner Ann Budge in the morning but anticipates remaining in charge of the team while she draws up a list of candidates to replace Craig Levein.
He said: “This is the fourth game I’ve stood in due to a variety of reasons and I’ve won my previous three. This was a semi-final against Rangers at Hampden who we haven’t beaten since 2017.
“Ann and I will talk about the structure in the next week but I’d imagine I’ll be in charge.”