Kello: United didn't cash in on our woes

Sep 28 2008 By Gordon Waddell

Premier League

HEARTS may have paid their players' wages on Friday - but Csaba Laszlo couldn't buy a performance from them on Saturday.

The Jambos held on to the SPL's third spot despite slumping to their third away defeat in four trips.

But keeper Marian Kello - the only one of their players who truly earned his corn for 90 minutes - refused to blame the club's midweek cash crisis for their crushing defeat at Tannadice.

The Slovakian said: "It certainly had no effect on me and it shouldn't have had any on the rest of the team either.

"I don't think about the money, only the game.

"And it was difficult for us from the first minute.

"It doesn't matter if I had a good game or not - we lost the match 3-0 so it wasn't a good day for me."

It couldn't have been good for Laszlo either.

The Romanian boss sent out the same starting 11 who beat Inverness last weekend.

But apart from some halfdecent possession early on they offered nothing in return.

And he'll now need to do a bit of thinking to cover his problematic right-back slot when Eggert Jonsson's suspension for his two-yellow sending off yesterday kicks in.

The Romanian sighed: "It is the question everyone asks: 'Did what happened with the money affect us?' "But no, if a ball is in the air you head it, you do not think about other issues.

"We played well for a time in the first half but lost the game 3-0 so we need to learn from it and do better next week.

"To be fair, it was a brilliant free-kick they scored to beat us with the first goal but we lost some of our spirit and discipline in the second half."