Hearts provide a Cammy Devlin update as Premiership title edges closer after beating Hibs

Blair Spittal’s late winner allied to Sabah Kerjota’s second-half substitute display earned Hearts a vital win over Hibs in the Edinburgh derby at Easter Road. The result takes the Tynecastle club three points clear of Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership and means they need just 10 points to win their first league title since 1960.

Spittal’s winner came after Hearts toiled for long periods against nine-man Hibs. Martin Boyle opened the scoring in the first half and Warren O’Hora’s own goal brought the visitors level after the interval. In between Hibs goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger and defender Felix Passlack were both red-carded by referee Don Robertson. Spittal then produced a driven finish to win the game for Hearts on 86 minutes. Kerjota created both goals for his team after replacing Dutch defender Jordi Altena at half-time.

After a dramatic match loaded with controversy and drama, Hearts provided an update on the fitness of Australian midfielder Cammy Devlin. He missed the game with a muscle strain and head coach Derek McInnes said he is hopeful the player can return soon. “Cammy's picked up a strain, we're hoping it's nothing too serious and he can play his part in the next few games. Hopefully, we can get Harry [Milne] and Cammy ready for Rangers next Monday,” said McInnes, who admitted he is perplexed by the injury situation at Riccarton.

He is already without Oisin McEntee, Tomas Magnusson and Eduardo Ageu for the rest of the season. “A lot of these injuries we're getting through training is no contact and however that is, it's Osin, Tomas, Cammy, players who have been out with another injury - then within a few weeks they're out with another injury, a different type of injury, we need to get to the bottom of that.

“I'm going to get asked by you guys, I'm going to get asked by the board, I'm going to get asked by supporters why we're getting injuries. I'm asking the same question. It's not being perfect but we know we're not the only club having to deal with circumstances like this at this stage of the season so we still have a strong team on the pitch and disruptions are part of it.”

McInnes praised his players for their unwavering belief after probing at Hibs for quite some time before Spittal’s winner arrived. He introduced wingers Kerjota and Alexandros Kyziridis to stretch the play and was ultimately rewarded. “I thought Beni Baningime and Marc Leonard were superb in terms of just being metronomes in the middle of the park, keeping the whole thing moving along and making good decisions, but we still needed to go back into where we came from at times and try and move them a wee bit more,” explained McInnes.

“It needed passes into strikers rather than quick crosses where [Rocky] Bushiri and O’Hora are always going to be favourites for those types. I thought some of our crossing, the decision was poor but it's easy for me to say that sitting at the side. When you're in the heat of the battle sometimes you think that's the right thing to do but I thought we'd come up with a big moment and it was well-deserved. A derby game can be quite contentious but we kept our discipline, we kept our composure, kept 11 men on the pitch and we kept our calmness to get the result.”

Motherwell’s 3-2 win over Rangers at Ibrox put a huge dent in the Glasgow club’s title bid. They visit Tynecastle a week on Monday. Celtic are now the closest challengers to Hearts after beating Falkirk on Saturday. “It's a big weekend for us and Celtic because Rangers have lost but it doesn't mean to say that that's going to be... it helps us this weekend but it's another round of fixtures next weekend.

“It could easily be us on the wrong side if we don't knuckle down and get on with the job. It's a big win for us in the sense that it's against your local rivals, it's the first game of the split which I think, although it's three points, if you win your first game it can give you impetus and the confidence to go and deal with what's ahead of you. Next Monday is a brilliant game for us at home to Rangers but we knew we only had two home games post-split. We're unbeaten at home, we're strong at home, the question that's been asked of us recently is: ‘Can we win away games?’ This is such a significant away win for us.

“I said to the players at half-time that we've won games with 10 men, especially when you've got something to hang on to. Hibs are in an environment with their own fans. They're going to give them every bit of help to do that. So we knew it wasn't going to be easy. Our case was helped a lot when their other boy [Passlack] was sent off at the start of the second half. Then it was a case of we'd already brought one winger on, Kerjota. He comes on as a wing-back effectively with Kingsley in the other slot.

“We actually felt because we had Hibs pushed back, we didn't need Kabore's brawn or pace. We needed a bit more guile and intelligence. As well as Kabore had done, it was the right decision for me to bring him off and get our two traditional strikers Braga and Shankland together. With Kyziridis and Kerjota on the sides, we just try and make it as difficult as we can for Hibs' midfield three effectively. In fairness to them, they worked and grafted for their team brilliantly, their three midfielders. Their two outside midfielders never really allowed too many overloads in wide areas, even when we moved it.

“I know David made changes to bring the freshness on there. When the game was crying out for quality, a bit of guile, Kerjota and Shankland bring it. The captain turns up with a big moment and then obviously Spittal scores goals like that every day in training. He's such a good finisher and he probably should score more goals in his career because he's got such good quality with his left foot and right foot. A lot of players, our players had snatched at things and hurried things and rushed their shots. All it needed was a bit of calmness - side foot, knee over the ball, goal.

“I’m delighted that we got such a big moment for him in his career but hopefully it’s a big moment in our story at Hearts this season. Any late winner is brilliant but in the circumstances it was in, it wasn't easy for our players. It was easier than it was for Hibs, of course, but it's not easy because everybody just sits back and goes: ‘Why are we not scoring? Why are we not winning?’ You've got a group of Hibs players who are doing everything they can with their blocks and all the rest of it. Thankfully we've managed to come out the other end of it.”

The Hearts team bus was welcomed down Easter Road by a huge group of supporters who are willing them towards this Premiership title. McInnes and his team soaked in the enthusiasm. “Aye, good, very good,” said the manager. “I remember it was a sobering result here, it stung really hard when we lost here in December and derby defeat should feel like a death. I know it's not but it felt awful that day. So I know how I wanted to feel today going back onto the bus so thankfully we've got that feeling and we take the good from the day onto the next one.

“You don’t need to say anything [driving past the fans on the bus]. We were actually watching a little video at the time and the video kind of got lost in the moment when we watched all the carnage. The Hibs fans gave us a good welcome as well,” smiled McInnes. “It just adds to it, it's exciting, you'd rather have that than nothing.” When asked what the video was, McInnes joked: “Just Shawshank Redemption. No, it was actually just some highlights and goals of the season and previous fixtures against Hibs. Just a wee reminder of what it entails.”

Hearts will win the title with another 10 points, possibly less depending on Celtic and Rangers results. McInnes has made it clear what he expects of his players. “Confidence with what we're doing, I think as confident as we can be with our work. It's going to be so important, don't let doubt or anxiety come into it. Today, there was a lot on the game, even the journey into here with the supporters as we came along, it felt different today than a normal derby.

“We're well aware of what's at stake but I think it's the players. I take confidence in the fact that I think we're over 70 per cent for a win ratio against teams in the top six. That’s better than any other team. So for me the reference is: The bigger the game, the bigger the performance and the bigger the result. I think that's something we can hang on to, it doesn't give you guarantees but we've got to remain confident because we've never really wavered that all season. We've believed in what we're doing, we work properly, we never accept bad practice, we don't have a lazy day, we're all for the next game and we need to be ready for the next game.”