MY TEAM LOOKS VULNERABLE, ADMITS BOSS
HEARTS boss Ian Cathro has admitted his struggling Jambos are low on confidence and showing signs of ‘vulnerability’. And the rookie head coach says only a win will shake them out of their malaise. The Tynecastle side drew 0-0 with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park last night, at least salvaging a point to build on last weekend’s battling 1-0 home win over Dundee. Whether one point will help in their bid to catch fourth-placed St Johnstone — or even see off a challenge from sixth-placed Partick Thistle — is something Cathro can’t yet predict. ‘Everyone else will do what they do,’ he said. ‘We have to keep focusing on ourselves until that gap is small enough for us to even talk about putting pressure on other teams. ‘Everyone knows we’ve not been on a good run. There is a wee bit of vulnerability and low confidence there, as we saw towards the end of the Dundee game and we saw tonight. If we want to talk about positives, you’ve got the fact we got through both of those situations without conceding a goal. ‘How do we lift confidence? Winning. It honestly is that simple. By doing the right things minute by minute, having yourself on top in games, you can feel the confidence maybe building. But, until that final whistle goes and you’ve won the game, they can take it away from you in a split second.’ Killie rival Lee McCulloch confessed: ‘Up to 40 minutes, that was the worst we’ve played since I’ve been interim manager. The character they showed in the second half was pleasing.’