Hearts manager Craig Levein says hard work paid off in Celtic win
Monday 18 December 2017 15:03, UK
Hearts manager Craig Levein feels they have been rewarded for their hard work after they ended Celtic’s 69-match unbeaten run with a 4-0 victory at Tynecastle on Sunday.
An impressive opening goal from 16-year-old Harry Cochrane was followed by a further first-half strike from Kyle Lafferty before a brace from Manuel Milinkovic after the restart put the result beyond doubt.
Experienced campaigner Levein is not getting too carried away by the result, however, and still expects Celtic to successfully defend their Scottish Premiership crown.
"We've been working very hard, even in the games where we haven't been picking up points," said Levein.
"We had a spell where we had a lot of draws but we felt things were slowly coming right but you need to add victories to that.
"To get two victories coming into the Celtic game gave the players a little bit of confidence and things went well for us. Our stadium feels like everything is on top of you and there is not much space.
"I don't think the Celtic players ever really got comfortable and that was obviously part of the gameplan."
Next up for the Jambos is a game with St Johnstone before they face rivals Hibernian in the Edinburgh derby on December 27 - live on Sky Sports.
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"We've set the bar and that's now three victories in a row , six undefeated and we've only lost two goals in those games," added Levein.
"Before that [the Hibernian game] we have to deal with St Johnstone away on Saturday and we don't have a particularly good record against them, so the next challenge is to try and get three points there.
"Celtic are still the best team by a fair bit just now. The fact they went on that unbeaten run tells you that.
"Rangers are still struggling a little bit to find their form, Aberdeen are doing exceptionally well, we are looking to improve and Hibs have improved for sure.
"But I still think Celtic are out on their own and I expect them to win the title this season."
Levein also had words of praise for Cochrane's man-of-the-match performance against Brendan Rodgers' side.
"We've got some really good young players and Harry has handled himself extremely well in recent months when he's been playing first-team football. At 16, it's not easy," said Levein.
"He's a very grounded and well brought up boy and he's not getting carried away in the slightest.
"For him to put on a performance like that was just magical."
Watch Hearts v Hibernian on December 27. Coverage begins on Sky Sports Football at 7:30pm.
