Craig Levein has warned Hearts fans unhappy with Robbie Neilson as manager to look at Aberdeen after Derek McInnes as an example of what can happen.
The Dons are now just one point behind the Jambos in the race for third place after the capital club threw away their lead against Kilmarnock on Saturday to go down 2-1 at Rugby Park. One fan responded by spraying an x-rated message directed at Neilson across a Hearts crest mosaic on Foundation Plaza outside the main stand at Tynecastle.
It’s not the first time punters have voiced their displeasure despite sitting third in the table. Back in Neilson’s first spell in charge, a plane was hired to fly over the Gorgie ground trailing a banner that read: “No style, no bottle, Neilson out” although it was widely condemned by the Hearts support and the manager went on to finish best of the rest that season as well.
Levein didn’t understand that stunt, nor does he get the thinking behind the latest. Aside from the vandalism, he pointed to Aberdeen’s plummet down the table as they burned through two managers in quick succession after McInnes was fired after eight years at the helm, and are only now starting to recover under Barry Robson.
"The plane thing was nonsense - the club were doing really well at the time," he told BBC Scotland. "To me, he's done a fantastic job. Be careful what you wish for, because I look at the Aberdeen situation - they get rid of Derek McInnes then two more managers in a very short space of time. Very quickly it can go from fairly regular success to almost a catastrophe
“People have a voice now. They can get to chairman and to board members much more easily than they did. In my day, they wrote in to the Evening News in Edinburgh and made a complaint or phoned a radio phone-in or made your way to the stadium to make a statement through booing. Now you can get instant access to owners and, when the owners come under pressure, that's when things can get a bit hairy."
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