Successful survival bid delights Tom

TYNECASTLE manager Tom Steven was one of the happiest men in the Capital on Wednesday night as his previous club Edinburgh City beat Lothian Thistle 3-2 to ensure his current team can’t now be relegated.

“When Sean [Tom’s brother] and me took over at Tynecastle in October last year after they had been beaten 9-0 by Spartans they were in second bottom spot with three points from five games,” said Steven. “Our remit at that time was to ensure that Tynecastle were not relegated and I can therefore say that it is ‘job accomplished’ with still two league games left. In our 15 games in charge we have achieved 21 points which, if extrapolated over an entire season, would mean us finishing in the top half of the table.

“However, since Sean and me have been here we have only beaten teams around about us in the league and we now want to beat a top team. What better way to start than with a win tomorrow against Spartans who are the benchmark for all other teams? I watched the previous game when Spartans beat Tynecastle 9-0 so tomorrow will give us an indication of how far we have come. I genuinely feel that we can upset Spartans although it will obviously be tough to turn around that result. However, there is absolutely no pressure on us and it does not really matter if we finish fourth bottom or third bottom. My players will still play to my instructions but with a bit of freedom.

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“We have nothing to lose and I’m looking forward to a tussle with the Spartans management team of Sam Lynch and Mike Lawson.”

Tynecastle have John Gilbertson back in goals after a long absence although midfielder Eddie Mearns is suspended.