matty_f
11-03-2018, 04:55 PM
Clearly the natural order comment has backfired massively on Craig Levein, and on reflection I think it's very telling about the nick of Hearts coming into derbies these days.
Levein mentioned it for a few reasons, imho. One was to play to the gallery a bit, and create a bit of good favour with the Hearts support.
The other was to try and get under our skin and try and get us to lose focus for the derby.
But the main reason he mentioned it, was that his side definitely don't see Hearts winning derbies as anything like a natural order.
He'll know, from the derbies since Stubbs took over, that even at their best, Hearts have been hugely fortunate to take anything from the D derbies.
He'll know his players won't have the confidence going into these games that Hearts had for a long time - because there is NOTHING for this generation of Hearts player to base it on. Their experiences of the derby are not good.
Levein will also know that the opposite is true for the Hibs players. We look like we are the team expecting to win. We play with the sheet of a side who know we are superior all over the pitch.
Even their fans, who have been anonymous up until they eventually beat us in the cup, are harking back to the late eighties/early nineties to find some comfort, for a sign that they are in a position to just turn up and win. And on Friday night they had that slapped right out of them with yet another convincing derby defeat.
You know they don't believe the natural order stuff because they all disappeared before ninety minutes were up.
They streamed out the exits at 2-0, tails between their legs.
Back when they believed in the natural order, they'd have hung about waiting on the inevitable flukey goals.
Whereas we, at 2-0 in the cup, were there into injury time to see the equaliser which kept us in the cup that we'd eventually win.
The stats might well paint a picture of Hearts' dominance in this fixture but times have changed. The natural order (if there even is such a thing) for these players on both sides is Hibs are on to.
Levein knows it. Hence his pathetic attempt to try and change it.
Levein mentioned it for a few reasons, imho. One was to play to the gallery a bit, and create a bit of good favour with the Hearts support.
The other was to try and get under our skin and try and get us to lose focus for the derby.
But the main reason he mentioned it, was that his side definitely don't see Hearts winning derbies as anything like a natural order.
He'll know, from the derbies since Stubbs took over, that even at their best, Hearts have been hugely fortunate to take anything from the D derbies.
He'll know his players won't have the confidence going into these games that Hearts had for a long time - because there is NOTHING for this generation of Hearts player to base it on. Their experiences of the derby are not good.
Levein will also know that the opposite is true for the Hibs players. We look like we are the team expecting to win. We play with the sheet of a side who know we are superior all over the pitch.
Even their fans, who have been anonymous up until they eventually beat us in the cup, are harking back to the late eighties/early nineties to find some comfort, for a sign that they are in a position to just turn up and win. And on Friday night they had that slapped right out of them with yet another convincing derby defeat.
You know they don't believe the natural order stuff because they all disappeared before ninety minutes were up.
They streamed out the exits at 2-0, tails between their legs.
Back when they believed in the natural order, they'd have hung about waiting on the inevitable flukey goals.
Whereas we, at 2-0 in the cup, were there into injury time to see the equaliser which kept us in the cup that we'd eventually win.
The stats might well paint a picture of Hearts' dominance in this fixture but times have changed. The natural order (if there even is such a thing) for these players on both sides is Hibs are on to.
Levein knows it. Hence his pathetic attempt to try and change it.