Something JJ needs to address..

[djh83]

It's been touched on already by lots of different pundits and the likes of Neil Lennon that "this Hearts team don't have the mental strength to handle the pressure and go all the way to win the title since they've never been in that position before". Now up until now I was very much in the 'b0llocks to that' camp but after Saturday Im not so sure and think JJ (if he hasn't already) should be looking to address it with the players.

 

We came away from Saturday's game against Rangers with all 3 points which is FANTASTIC but what concerned me was for the majority of the match it looked like we were suffering from stage fright. We lacked composure, we were panicking with needless sloppy passes, players like Temps and Mworic who've been solid this season were having nightmares. What worried me was this was just a mid season match and the 1st real big challenge in the run in for the title and we looked nervous. What would these players be like in a high pressure win or bust game on the last week of the season?

 

Hopefully JJ will get it into the players heads that after that result on saturday we can beat anyone and shouldn't be intimidated by anyone.

[K1874M]

We did look nervous but I think that's because rangers didn't let us and to be fair that was out of character for them this season, they've been takings their time of late getting a grip of games.

[menstrie1874]

It's been touched on already by lots of different pundits and the likes of Neil Lennon that "this Hearts team don't have the mental strength to handle the pressure and go all the way to win the title since they've never been in that position before". Now up until now I was very much in the 'b0llocks to that' camp but after Saturday Im not so sure and think JJ (if he hasn't already) should be looking to address it with the players.

 

We came away from Saturday's game against Rangers with all 3 points which is FANTASTIC but what concerned me was for the majority of the match it looked like we were suffering from stage fright. We lacked composure, we were panicking with needless sloppy passes, players like Temps and Mworic who've been solid this season were having nightmares. What worried me was this was just a mid season match and the 1st real big challenge in the run in for the title and we looked nervous. What would these players be like in a high pressure win or bust game on the last week of the season?

 

Hopefully JJ will get it into the players heads that after that result on saturday we can beat anyone and shouldn't be intimidated by anyone.

To be honest its not only the players that are nervous and having nightmares, this is a new experience for alot of us fans to. If any of the older kickbackers can give words of advice to us slightly younger ones please do...

But yeah I hope JJ can calm the players down. Temps has been looking a bit slower for a couple of games now and prob needs a rest but can he be rested until Driver and/or Suso are fit? Mworic has been realy consistent and can have a bad game. just have to hope his head is in the right place on wed and he doesnt let sat get to him.

[mahgrassyshoes]

Mrowiec has been poor the last 3 games (2nd half against Killie aside) imo, but i think that is more to do with the standards he set early in the season.

 

You could say that after being put under so much pressure in the first 20 minutes the team did well to pick themselves up, strangle the game a bit a steal a goal and ultimately a win. If this had been the other way around we would be hearing that Rangers were showing "the sign of champions". I think the same should be applied to us in this instance. Let's go to parkhead, get right behind the team from the start, and let them put on a performance, because it can't get much worse that yesterday and look what happened there. I've personally know worries about the mentality of this team.

[Sexton Hardcastle]

As its also been said before..

 

Playing bad and winning. A sign of Champions. The OF have done it for years.

[jambo_74]

It's been touched on already by lots of different pundits and the likes of Neil Lennon that "this Hearts team don't have the mental strength to handle the pressure and go all the way to win the title since they've never been in that position before". Now up until now I was very much in the 'b0llocks to that' camp but after Saturday Im not so sure and think JJ (if he hasn't already) should be looking to address it with the players.

 

We came away from Saturday's game against Rangers with all 3 points which is FANTASTIC but what concerned me was for the majority of the match it looked like we were suffering from stage fright. We lacked composure, we were panicking with needless sloppy passes, players like Temps and Mworic who've been solid this season were having nightmares. What worried me was this was just a mid season match and the 1st real big challenge in the run in for the title and we looked nervous. What would these players be like in a high pressure win or bust game on the last week of the season?

 

Hopefully JJ will get it into the players heads that after that result on saturday we can beat anyone and shouldn't be intimidated by anyone.

 

The problem on Saturday was IMHO nothing to do with stage fright, more the fact that Ruben and Adrian were playing really close to each other. We had little or no link up from back to front. That and the fact that Rangers simply flooded the midfield, closed every ball down instantly and made it difficult for any Hearts players to pick a pass culminated in our keeper getting rewarded with a bottle of champagne.

 

As soon as this was addressed, we limited Rangers to a shot that hit the bar. All their early pressure was down to a slight tactical error. That and Mrwociec has the worst touch known to man followed a close second by Jonson. As soon as Mrwociec was able to play his normal destructive game and not worry about trying to play killer passes or any passes over five yards for that matter, everything settled down. His reading of the game is very good and the formation change helped him immensely.

[djh83]

The problem on Saturday was IMHO nothing to do with stage fright, more the fact that Ruben and Adrian were playing really close to each other. We had little or no link up from back to front. That and the fact that Rangers simply flooded the midfield, closed every ball down instantly and made it difficult for any Hearts players to pick a pass culminated in our keeper getting rewarded with a bottle of champagne.

 

As soon as this was addressed, we limited Rangers to a shot that hit the bar. All their early pressure was down to a slight tactical error. That and Mrwociec has the worst touch known to man followed a close second by Jonson. As soon as Mrwociec was able to play his normal destructive game and not worry about trying to play killer passes or any passes over five yards for that matter, everything settled down. His reading of the game is very good and the formation change helped him immensely.

 

This is a good point. A few times in the first half Mroweic got the ball in a good position and panicked and just tried to flick a lob pass forward to absolutely no one.

[Charlie-Brown]

I think 1985-86 was the only times when we were challenging Rangers & Celtic we didn't really suffer stage fright in the big games against them, certainly in 1997-98 and 2005-06 we dropped more points against them than we gained and seemed a wee bit in fear/awe of them at times. Winning/Not losing against them is good for our self-belief and confidence.

[Charlie-Brown]

I think Mrowiec can fairly be described as the new Neil Berry! Chuck wasn't the most gifted of footballers but at his best he offered us tremendous energy, huge heart and winning the ball for us to enable the better players to do their stuff. Big Adrian is very similar for my money.

[Victorian]

in '06 we had quite a number of mentally tough players. some that had achieved lofty things in the game.

 

we don't really have anyone at present who has proved to have a 'winnin mentaliteh'. that's not to say that they don't have a winning mentality of course. those players may have it and just need a stage on which to prove it.

[stuart500]

A couple of old heads in now could steady the ship. Come on Vlad.

[Charlie-Brown]

in '06 we had quite a number of mentally tough players. some that had achieved lofty things in the game.

 

we don't really have anyone at present who has proved to have a 'winnin mentaliteh'. that's not to say that they don't have a winning mentality of course. those players may have it and just need a stage on which to prove it.

 

Of course Fyssas & Jankauskas had tremendous experience whilst Elvis had been in winning teams much earlier in his career but hadn't won anything in almost a decade with Hearts and Dundee utd whilst C.Gordon, Hartley and Neilson etc had never won anything nor been in that position before either - they all matured & grew much stronger mentally as that campaign progressed.

 

Conversely Mackay, Robbo, Colquhoun, Levein, Smith, Berry, W.Kidd etc never managed to really shake of the scars of Dens Park and other big games lost at Hampden despite them forming the core of an excellent Hearts team for almost a decade.

[djh83]

A couple of old heads in now could steady the ship. Come on Vlad.

 

Agreed. If we are to actually win anything we can't just exclusively stick to the policy of bringing through/signing youths to eventually sell them on. We need a couple older, experienced players for the younger players to learn from.

[Charlie-Brown]

Agreed. If we are to actually win anything we can't just exclusively stick to the policy of bringing through/signing youths to eventually sell them on. We need a couple older, experienced players for the younger players to learn from.

 

Isn't this what the signings of Kyle, Elliott, Skacel plus re-signing Zaliukas, Mrowiec and Kello provided?

[Jambo66]

I think 1985-86 was the only times when we were challenging Rangers & Celtic we didn't really suffer stage fright in the big games against them, certainly in 1997-98 and 2005-06 we dropped more points against them than we gained and seemed a wee bit in fear/awe of them at times. Winning/Not losing against them is good for our self-belief and confidence.

 

In 1997-98, our record against the OF in the league was 3 draws and 5 defeats. If those 3 draws had been wins, we would have won the league - that is how close we came that season, 3 goals! After 4 games this season we have 2 wins and 2 defeats. To be in with a real shout, we need to beat them both again. If we do it in the next 10 days or so, I really don't think we will need to beat them again this season.

 

It's a lot easier said than done, but we know we can do it, JJ knows we can do it, and the players know they can do it. The pressure is all on the OF. It's not on us, because no-one and I mean no-one at all expects us to win the title. A Celtic win on Wednesday won't win them the title, a Rangers win next Wednesday won't win them the title, but 2 wins for Hearts will have them absolutely petrified.

 

I have seen too many near things in the league and the cup to even start counting the eggs, far less the chickens, but right now, I am having a ball because I can dream. We all know how we felt when we won the cup in 1998. We all know how we felt when Paul Hartley scored that penalty against Aberdeen in 2006. And I am dreaming about what it would feel like in May 2011 if ...

[Charlie-Brown]

In 1997-98, our record against the OF in the league was 3 draws and 5 defeats. If those 3 draws had been wins, we would have won the league - that is how close we came that season, 3 goals! After 4 games this season we have 2 wins and 2 defeats. To be in with a real shout, we need to beat them both again. If we do it in the next 10 days or so, I really don't think we will need to beat them again this season.

 

It's a lot easier said than done, but we know we can do it, JJ knows we can do it, and the players know they can do it. The pressure is all on the OF. It's not on us, because no-one and I mean no-one at all expects us to win the title. A Celtic win on Wednesday won't win them the title, a Rangers win next Wednesday won't win them the title, but 2 wins for Hearts will have them absolutely petrified.

 

I have seen too many near things in the league and the cup to even start counting the eggs, far less the chickens, but right now, I am having a ball because I can dream. We all know how we felt when we won the cup in 1998. We all know how we felt when Paul Hartley scored that penalty against Aberdeen in 2006. And I am dreaming about what it would feel like in May 2011 if ...

 

We also had a great run and potential league challenge up until the end of January in 1991-92 season but we let it slip away and although we still finished 2nd Rangers won by a comfortably clear margin by the end.

[pcw1874]

What a lot of bollocks, especially from Lennon (if he did say that), coming out with mental toughness and how Hearts don't have it; That's just pundits blowing their gums. If its mental toughness you're looking for, what have Hooper, Stokes, McGinn and McCourt won? SFA, What has Lennon won as a manager, SFA, wo where is all this mental toughness coming from?

 

On the other hand, Jeffries has won something, so he knows what's it like to win against the Old Firm, and a much better Old Firm team than those playing today.

 

I rather think, that as the same in previous weeks, Temps, Mroweic, Bouzid and a few others, are just not playing at the top of their games, and if it weren't for injuries, they may even have been rested.

 

Another central midfield player or defender wouldn't go a miss to freshen things up, as a right back especially, would free up Jonsson, like the return of Wallace has freed Ruben to play centrally.

 

But, mental toughness, give me a break. We're just not firing on all cylinders just now, and we will lose a few games, but so will the Old Firm. We're playing mince and still winning, long may it continue, until we get back to gubbing sides again. We've got 45 points, scored as many goals as Celtic and conceded fewer than Rangers, so let the pundits blow!!!

[trotter]

In 1997-98, our record against the OF in the league was 3 draws and 5 defeats. If those 3 draws had been wins, we would have won the league - that is how close we came that season, 3 goals! After 4 games this season we have 2 wins and 2 defeats. To be in with a real shout, we need to beat them both again. If we do it in the next 10 days or so, I really don't think we will need to beat them again this season.

 

It's a lot easier said than done, but we know we can do it, JJ knows we can do it, and the players know they can do it. The pressure is all on the OF. It's not on us, because no-one and I mean no-one at all expects us to win the title. A Celtic win on Wednesday won't win them the title, a Rangers win next Wednesday won't win them the title, but 2 wins for Hearts will have them absolutely petrified.

 

I have seen too many near things in the league and the cup to even start counting the eggs, far less the chickens, but right now, I am having a ball because I can dream. We all know how we felt when we won the cup in 1998. We all know how we felt when Paul Hartley scored that penalty against Aberdeen in 2006. And I am dreaming about what it would feel like in May 2011 if ...

 

We all know as Hearts fans that when things are bad, they are horrific - but it makes the good times so much sweeter...

[Harmonica]

Don't think its anything to do with us not having the mental strength or bottle, the games against Motherwell and Killie away have shown me that we have a bit more steel about us than we have had in recent seasons. I don't think we were set-up correctly. We were outnumbered in midfield and it wasn't until Temps got subbed and we went to a 4-4-2 that we looked a bit more settled. Obviously KK was a massive miss for us but I think if we can get our tactics right on the night we won't be far away.

[djh83]

Isn't this what the signings of Kyle, Elliott, Skacel plus re-signing Zaliukas, Mrowiec and Kello provided?

 

 

This is what the debate is about, those names you list haven't won anything.

[IMA MAROON]

What a lot of bollocks, especially from Lennon (if he did say that), coming out with mental toughness and how Hearts don't have it; That's just pundits blowing their gums. If its mental toughness you're looking for, what have Hooper, Stokes, McGinn and McCourt won? SFA, What has Lennon won as a manager, SFA, wo where is all this mental toughness coming from?

 

On the other hand, Jeffries has won something, so he knows what's it like to win against the Old Firm, and a much better Old Firm team than those playing today.

 

I rather think, that as the same in previous weeks, Temps, Mroweic, Bouzid and a few others, are just not playing at the top of their games, and if it weren't for injuries, they may even have been rested.

 

Another central midfield player or defender wouldn't go a miss to freshen things up, as a right back especially, would free up Jonsson, like the return of Wallace has freed Ruben to play centrally.

 

But, mental toughness, give me a break. We're just not firing on all cylinders just now, and we will lose a few games, but so will the Old Firm. We're playing mince and still winning, long may it continue, until we get back to gubbing sides again. We've got 45 points, scored as many goals as Celtic and conceded fewer than Rangers, so let the pundits blow!!!

 

He has changed his tune.

 

?Hearts have been very consistent, and it?s a good run they?ve been on in the last couple of months and there?s obviously a real belief in the team,? Neil Lennon said.

 

?Jim Jefferies has done a brilliant job there so far and I don?t see why they can?t challenge for the title. They were there in 2006 and they seem to have the same sort of team spirit again this year, so it would be folly to ignore their efforts so far.?

[I.J]

Being lectured on mental strength by Neil Lennon is like being told off about bladder control by Pat Stanton.

[Juanjo]

Don't think its anything to do with us not having the mental strength or bottle, the games against Motherwell and Killie away have shown me that we have a bit more steel about us than we have had in recent seasons. I don't think we were set-up correctly. We were outnumbered in midfield and it wasn't until Temps got subbed and we went to a 4-4-2 that we looked a bit more settled. Obviously KK was a massive miss for us but I think if we can get our tactics right on the night we won't be far away.

 

I was too stressed out watching the game to fully appreciate the tactical switches at the time, however from listening to JJ's post-match interview he moved from matching Rangers' 4-5-1 with the same formation to a 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 which actually left us a man short in midfield BUT forced Rangers back 20 yards as adding Glen up front meant that Rangers could not risk as high a line as they played against one striker, and this allowed Elliott to drop off slightly to pick up the scraps - i thought he did this very well in the last 20-25 minutes and caused havoc.

 

But i am willing to be corrected on this one!

[Charlie-Brown]

This is what the debate is about, those names you list haven't won anything.

 

Are you sure you don't want to think a wee bit more about that?

[djh83]

Are you sure you don't want to think a wee bit more about that?

 

Ahhhh I see what I've done there.

[alwaysthereinspirit]

It's been touched on already by lots of different pundits and the likes of Neil Lennon that "this Hearts team don't have the mental strength to handle the pressure and go all the way to win the title since they've never been in that position before". Now up until now I was very much in the 'b0llocks to that' camp but after Saturday Im not so sure and think JJ (if he hasn't already) should be looking to address it with the players.

 

We came away from Saturday's game against Rangers with all 3 points which is FANTASTIC but what concerned me was for the majority of the match it looked like we were suffering from stage fright. We lacked composure, we were panicking with needless sloppy passes, players like Temps and Mworic who've been solid this season were having nightmares. What worried me was this was just a mid season match and the 1st real big challenge in the run in for the title and we looked nervous. What would these players be like in a high pressure win or bust game on the last week of the season?

 

Hopefully JJ will get it into the players heads that after that result on saturday we can beat anyone and shouldn't be intimidated by anyone.

 

 

How many championship run ins have the Celtic players been involved in?

Not worried for a second that we cant handle it. If Hearts players want it enough they'll come through when it matters.

The pressure is all on the OF, not us.

[Only a Game]

To be honest its not only the players that are nervous and having nightmares, this is a new experience for alot of us fans to. If any of the older kickbackers can give words of advice to us slightly younger ones please do...

.

 

Yeh, buy a hankie and book some therapy, because this could easily end in tears and long term mental health issues. :rolleyes:

[Radioactive Mince]

Hmmm...

 

Mrowiec, in the act of losing the ball, winning it back then losing it again so spectacularly, made himself look a bit of a dope and will've been remembered for this. However, he was far from our worst performer over the course of the 94 mins, I thought. He actually did well to set up Stevenson for his shot which whistled narrowly over.

 

Templeton was being double marked and Whittaker was having a particularly good game. Temps still managed to get into a couple of dangerous positions. He's obviously a victim of his own success and if he's not doing anything spectacular, he's having a 'mare. He's just your typical winger, really.

 

The whole Hearts team were letting the game pass them by in the first half, with maybe the exceptions of Wallace, Elliott (for hard work and managing to find a team-mate now and again really) and, of course, Kello. Bouzid was another who maybe could've been given pass marks, only for his tackling, though, as his distribution was consistently atrocious. We can get by with one or two passengers in the eleven, but certainly not more than half the team, especially against the better sides in the league.

 

Rangers were getting tons of joy down their left hand side, mainly due to the ridiculously bad defending of Eggert Johnson. In particular, his inability to get to grips with Naismith was horrifying to witness. No wonder he clattered the wee shit later on. I notice he's now a hero for that. He's lucky we won. If he doesn't drastically improve in his adopted position, we need to sign a right back as a matter of urgency. At the very least we should try one of the Thomsons. However, I'm not sure what dropping him would achieve so, if I were Jefferies, I'd be having a quiet word but giving him a chance to redeem himself at the Tattiedrome... (I know, I'm contradicting myself slightly - I like him)

 

Second half, we were more like ourselves and I can only hope and pray that that first half was nothing more than a collective off-day. Onwards and upwards. I'm not sure it's even possible for so many of our players to be so pish anytime soon.

[jblair182]

Comments from Neil Lennon should be ignored before the words have even left his mouth.

 

As someone has said above, the majority of the Celtic squad have won the square root of feck all.

[Sergio Garcia]

Hmmm...

 

Mrowiec, in the act of losing the ball, winning it back then losing it again so spectacularly, made himself look a bit of a dope and will've been remembered for this. However, he was far from our worst performer over the course of the 94 mins, I thought. He actually did well to set up Stevenson for his shot which whistled narrowly over.

 

Templeton was being double marked and Whittaker was having a particularly good game. Temps still managed to get into a couple of dangerous positions. He's obviously a victim of his own success and if he's not doing anything spectacular, he's having a 'mare. He's just your typical winger, really.

 

The whole Hearts team were letting the game pass them by in the first half, with maybe the exceptions of Wallace, Elliott (for hard work and managing to find a team-mate now and again really) and, of course, Kello. Bouzid was another who maybe could've been given pass marks, only for his tackling, though, as his distribution was consistently atrocious. We can get by with one or two passengers in the eleven, but certainly not more than half the team, especially against the better sides in the league.

 

Rangers were getting tons of joy down their left hand side, mainly due to the ridiculously bad defending of Eggert Johnson. In particular, his inability to get to grips with Naismith was horrifying to witness. No wonder he clattered the wee shit later on. I notice he's now a hero for that. He's lucky we won. If he doesn't drastically improve in his adopted position, we need to sign a right back as a matter of urgency. At the very least we should try one of the Thomsons. However, I'm not sure what dropping him would achieve so, if I were Jefferies, I'd be having a quiet word but giving him a chance to redeem himself at the Tattiedrome... (I know, I'm contradicting myself slightly - I like him)

 

Second half, we were more like ourselves and I can only hope and pray that that first half was nothing more than a collective off-day. Onwards and upwards. I'm not sure it's even possible for so many of our players to be so pish anytime soon.

 

Naismith was kept quiet for the majority of the game. I thought Eggert had a good game but each to their own.

[Radioactive Mince]

Naismith was kept quiet for the majority of the game. I thought Eggert had a good game but each to their own.

He was utterly dreadful, but each to their own

 

[Robbo27_22]

Winning mentality won't be down to Wednesday - we can only really be judged on that matter come May.

 

However, the signs to this point are pretty damn good to me.

 

Have we played teams of the park? Yes Celtic, Hamilton, Aberdeen, St Mirren, Hibs

Have we come from behind to win? Yes Killie

Have we been poor and won? Yes Huns on Saturday

Do we have good form? Best in the league

Are we good away from home? Yes Best away form in the league??

Have we sorted out our stumbles at home? Yes Two dropped points since November I think

Have we faired well against OF? Yes pretty even at the moment

If we do get beat on Wednesday, is there a good chance we'll bounce back? I'd say so.

Is there a togetherness in the squad? Most definitely

 

Says winning mentality to me.

[K1874M]

Naismith should have had a good game as the amount of space we gave him was terrible in the first half. In fact most of the rangers team were given far, far too much space.

[Debut 4]

It's been touched on already by lots of different pundits and the likes of Neil Lennon that "this Hearts team don't have the mental strength to handle the pressure and go all the way to win the title since they've never been in that position before". Now up until now I was very much in the 'b0llocks to that' camp but after Saturday Im not so sure and think JJ (if he hasn't already) should be looking to address it with the players.

 

We came away from Saturday's game against Rangers with all 3 points which is FANTASTIC but what concerned me was for the majority of the match it looked like we were suffering from stage fright. We lacked composure, we were panicking with needless sloppy passes, players like Temps and Mworic who've been solid this season were having nightmares. What worried me was this was just a mid season match and the 1st real big challenge in the run in for the title and we looked nervous. What would these players be like in a high pressure win or bust game on the last week of the season?

 

Hopefully JJ will get it into the players heads that after that result on saturday we can beat anyone and shouldn't be intimidated by anyone.

Possibly a good point but maybe we just didn`t play well? I like to think we kept fighting and believed in ourselves despite not playing too well...and that`s a good attribute to have. You aren`t always going to play great but the most important thing is to keep going until something comes off and continue to fight your corner off the ball when you have to defend.

 

But yes, if this team continues its fine run and we remain in the mix we will be tested mentally as new scenarios arise, i made this point a few weeks back. It isn`t goign to come down to ability, it`ll come down to nerve and bottle.

 

But out of interest...how many of the current Celtic team have won the title or been in this scenario themselves before? Lennon`s quick to point that out about us...maybe he should ask that about his own team....

[HoGwash]

Strange how people see things differently. My take on Saturday is that after playing below par and taking an early pounding but still having the balls to see through the bad patch, gradually get back into the game and then grab the winner shows huge mental strength. Especially after also showing the mental toughness to come from behind a few days earlier away to our nearest rivals (below).

[Debut 4]

Strange how people see things differently. My take on Saturday is that after playing below par and taking an early pounding but still having the balls to see through the bad patch, gradually get back into the game and then grab the winner shows huge mental strength. Especially after also showing the mental toughness to come from behind a few days earlier away to our nearest rivals (below).

I agree with ye mate. But if we do go the whole way and maintain a challenge new pressures will come. At the moment the league trophy isn`t anywhere near to being won by anyone but another 12, 13 games down the line and you are still in the mix with 5,6 games to go, then that is a real test of character.

 

There`s no real pressure in terms of actually winning that clinching game just now but we are showing plenty mental strength in important matches.

 

But when the finishing line is in sight you sink or swim as an individual...do you REALLy want it? Are you brave enough? Thats still to asked of this squad.

[HoGwash]

I agree with ye mate. But if we do go the whole way and maintain a challenge new pressures will come. At the moment the league trophy isn`t anywhere near to being won by anyone but another 12, 13 games down the line and you are still in the mix with 5,6 games to go, then that is a real test of character.

 

There`s no real pressure in terms of actually winning that clinching game just now but we are showing plenty mental strength in important matches.

 

But when the finishing line is in sight you sink or swim as an individual...do you REALLy want it? Are you brave enough? Thats still to asked of this squad.

 

Agreed. The more we keep winning and get closer to the top, the more the pressure will build.

[Marvin]

Conversely Mackay, Robbo, Colquhoun, Levein, Smith, Berry, W.Kidd etc never managed to really shake of the scars of Dens Park and other big games lost at Hampden despite them forming the core of an excellent Hearts team for almost a decade.

 

Yep that was some hangover. But '98 put that to rest. Just a shame Robbo didn't play even if it was only for a couple of minutes. He did deserve that much at least.

[scott herbertson]

I dson't think our poor play on Saturday was anything to do with mental strength. I think it was more to do with the lack of an effective centre forward to provide an out ball and to hold up play to allow Templeton Skacel and elliot to make runs. Every time the ball went up the park it came back at fweet with a rangers player. So our midfield were on the back foot form the start and that make it very difficult to play a passing game. Add to that Ness and Lafferty played very well, as did their centre backs and we had little time on the ball.

 

JJs half time changes were masterful, but I really hope that Kyle is nback and fit for wednesday - we can still win without him, but it will be harder.

 

Its a pity on reflection he didn't clock up a suspecnsion just prior to his injury as when he comes back i think one more booking and he'll miss another couple of games.

 

Perhaps he could play on Wednesday, score the winner, lamp McGreetingface and get his little op done while he is suspended....

[john brownlee]

according to a hun at work JJ needs to address the over celebrations at the end of the game.

 

Bitter loser that hun, mind you he used to be a hobo, says it all really

 

I'm lovin' it

 

 

What pesshes me off, including some on KB is that just like all the papers and media and everybody who had tuppence worth to say about the game is saying the same thing, rankers over run Hearts for most of the game and didn't desearve to lose, well tough, JJ the backroom team and the player all played the game right and came away with the points.

 

we won this time. revenge for the last time they invaded our patch, we didn't deserve to lose that day but we did . How many times have we heard that things even them selves out well I'll take this one'''

 

Well done everybody concerned. I for one think we deserved the victory.

[Fozzyonthefence]

according to a hun at work JJ needs to address the over celebrations at the end of the game.

 

Bitter loser that hun, mind you he used to be a hobo, says it all really

 

I'm lovin' it

 

 

What pesshes me off, including some on KB is that just like all the papers and media and everybody who had tuppence worth to say about the game is saying the same thing, rankers over run Hearts for most of the game and didn't desearve to lose, well tough, JJ the backroom team and the player all played the game right and came away with the points.

 

we won this time. revenge for the last time they invaded our patch, we didn't deserve to lose that day but we did . How many times have we heard that things even them selves out well I'll take this one'''

 

Well done everybody concerned. I for one think we deserved the victory.

 

Pubs just closed?!

[red]

It's been touched on already by lots of different pundits and the likes of Neil Lennon that "this Hearts team don't have the mental strength to handle the pressure and go all the way to win the title since they've never been in that position before". Now up until now I was very much in the 'b0llocks to that' camp but after Saturday Im not so sure and think JJ (if he hasn't already) should be looking to address it with the players.

 

We came away from Saturday's game against Rangers with all 3 points which is FANTASTIC but what concerned me was for the majority of the match it looked like we were suffering from stage fright. We lacked composure, we were panicking with needless sloppy passes, players like Temps and Mworic who've been solid this season were having nightmares. What worried me was this was just a mid season match and the 1st real big challenge in the run in for the title and we looked nervous. What would these players be like in a high pressure win or bust game on the last week of the season?

 

Hopefully JJ will get it into the players heads that after that result on saturday we can beat anyone and shouldn't be intimidated by anyone.

 

 

I agree with most of that and it was the only thing that worried me when JJ was appointed, he didnt seem to have the bottle and struggled to install a no fear attitude into the players in previous seasons as manager, HOWEVER this season he HAS, and the last two wins against the old firm prove this, forget the constant rangers pressure, we won 1 nil WITHOUT Kyle and Driver!!, we wont lose on wednesday!, a Draw is a cert i think, i win would be unthinkable but defo possible, I for one salute you msrs Jeffries Brown and Locke