Levein wants Jambos to be more ruthless
Hearts manager Craig Levein praised his team for ending a productive week on a high but admitted yesterday’s victory over St Johnstone should have been more comfortable.
The hosts deservedly stormed into a two-goal lead but were left having to repel a spirited St Johnstone fightback after Ross Callachan notched a lifeline for the visitors 13 minutes from time. Peter Haring and Jimmy Dunne scored with headers either side of the break for the league leaders in a game that saw Levein’s side register 22 attempts on goal.
And Levein, whose team set up a Betfred Cup semi-final against Celtic after beating Motherwell last Wednesday, insists his only complaint was that his players were not ruthless enough.
He said: “This was the one I was worried about at the end of a difficult week. It was tough and we made it tougher for ourselves with the number of chances we missed.
“It could have been a much easier afternoon had we been a bit more accurate in front of goal.
“But St Johnstone made us work for it. They have more pace in their team than they’ve had for a while.
“I would much rather have stood in the dugout and seen us take our chances and had an enjoyable afternoon.
“But unfortunately they got back into the game to make it 2-1 and made it more tense than it should have been.
“All credit to the lads, it’s another test of character and a different way of taking three points. So I have been really pleased with them, not just today but the whole of this week.”
With a five-point lead at the Premiership summit, Levein admits he is happy for his side to be talked about as title challengers, even if such a target has not been discussed within the club.
He added: “I much prefer that to what they were saying about us last year. Being lucky to be in the top six or top six contenders isn’t as good as being at the top of the league.
“We haven’t spoken about it ourselves, there’s a long way to go.” Saints manager Tommy Wright, meanwhile, admitted being second best for the majority of the game cost his side.
He said: “The finish was how we should have been for the whole game. “We started the game too loose.
“We lacked energy, where Hearts seemed right up for it. They were competitive and we lost too many first and second balls.”