Hearts Still Present A Challenge

20 November 2011 09:36
Off-field problems were left there as Hearts forced Dundee United to work hard for their win

Hearts do not have their troubles to seek off the field but Dundee United manager Peter Houston was full of praise for the players as they shrugged off that to focus on the game against his side who he thought were lucky to get the 1-0 win. The Tynecastle players have been worrying about money as they had to wait for their salaries again. The news that owner Vladimir Romanov has become disenfranchised with football and is looking to sell the club could not have helped their nerves. The first-team squad had to wait 19 days for October's salary and have been given no indication as to when they will receive this month's payment. Manager Paulo Sergio watched yesterday's game from the stand as he started his five-game touchline ban as the players character was tested at Tannadice. Houston felt his old team handled a turbulent week admirably as they made United work hard for the three points. Houston said: "I felt we were playing against a really good Hearts team. I've got to compliment them, I thought they played quite well today at times and we had to dig deep to get that result. I don't think (the issues) had any bearing on the result. If you look at the way they played today, I thought they played well. They worked really hard, so any thoughts about them not being paid, you can put that to bed right away. The Hearts players played with great fervour and with good passing, although sometimes their final ball let them down. They had plenty of possession in the second half and they camped us in our half at times, and the pleasing thing for me was that they never got through and our goalkeeper was decent as well. But credit to the Hearts players because in difficult times they've put that to the back of their minds and put up a good performance. I would say we were a wee bit fortunate to get three points." The win means that only two points separate sixth-placed Hearts and United. This sort of form has eased the pressure on Houston after question marks were raised over his future in the dugout. Houston was please with his side's and that it was not left to Jon Daly to score. This week it was Scott Robertson who was on hand to deliver the three points with his first goal in nearly three years. Robertson last scored in December 2008 and Houston has urged his players to provide more support in the scoring stakes to their captain Daly, who has scored an impressive seven goals so far this season. Houston went on: "We have been criticised a lot recently for our defending but today the boys, right from the front, not just the back four, defended well. I've got to give great credit to the players because they dug in, they worked very hard and scored a good goal. It's not often you see Jon Daly running down the channels and putting the crosses into the box. You normally like him in the box. But we always encourage midfield players to get into the box and Scott Robertson is capable of that. I would just like to see him doing it a bit more."

Source: FOOTYMAD