Robbie Neilson has declared he’s going nowhere after insisting he won’t be forced out by his Gorgie critics.
The Hearts boss was this week targeted with a foul-mouth graffiti protest after seeing his team’s commanding lead in third place slashed to a single point. Furious fans reacted to last weekend’s Kilmarnock defeat - the Jambos’ fifth loss in their last six games - by spray-painting ‘F*** off Neilson’ across a crest mosaic on Tynecastle’s doorstep.
The shameful images prompted former Gorgie boss Craig Levein to express fears that Neilson might decide to quit the club on the back of the fan flak - just as he did when he when he chose to join MK Dons in the wake of the infamous 2016 plane banner bashing the boss endured during his first stint in charge. But Neilson reassured the sane and sensible section of the Hearts faithful that he’s here for the foreseeable.
The 42-year-old said: “This is a brilliant football club and it’s great to be here. I want to be here long-term, continue European football year in and year out, and continue to build.
“We’ve had a difficult wee period and it’s part of football. We need to accept that and make sure we keep the players in the right frame of mind to push forward.”
Neilson knows flak goes with the territory when managing one of the biggest games in the country. But he’s disappointed to see a supposed Jambo trashing the plaza mosaic that was paid for by the Foundation of Hearts when the fan group coughed up the cash to pay for the club’s new main stand.
“It’s part of football nowadays,” he sighed. “When you’re at a big football club, if you lose a couple of games there will be a minority who want to take it to the next level.
“The most disappointing thing is it’s a promenade that has been paid for by the fans, who put in money every week. Then they will have to spend money to repair it.
“There are ways of venting your fury or anger, if you want to do it try and do it another way please. We understand the frustration there.
“We were at Federation do on Sunday and the fans were brilliant, they’re backing the players, they’re pushing things forward. We have these wee blips.”
Hearts hope to get back on track after their recent slump when they host St Mirren. But Neilson admits he’s still sweating on keeper Zander Clark, who had to be replaced by third-choice stopper Ross Stewart after being forced off at Rugby Park last week with a ham-string strain.
“We will wait on Zander and probably give him until the last minute,” said the Tynecastle chief. “He is feeling a lot better. The hope is that it’s just a mild nerve issue which settles down.
“It has settled down quite a lot but we haven’t really tested it that much so far. We’re just letting it settle. He hasn’t trained at all, he’s just been in the gym. We will try him on Friday and see where we are.
“It could be [a lot worse] but he’s a goalie so they don’t need to run about that much. He’s touch-and-go, it’s whether we risk him really. Is it worth that risk? That’s the million-dollar question.
“If he gets through it then it would be worth the risk, so we will wait and see. It will probably be Saturday morning before I make a final decision to see how he gets through things.”
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