Hearts 3 - 2 St Mirren: Glen's strike warms Hearts

THIS victory, hard-fought but just about merited, said a lot about where Hearts are at present.

Failure to claim a place in the top six was an embarrassment to the Edinburgh club and now all they can strive to do is finish as the best of the rest. It's a long way from the championships and European glory that absentee landlord Vladimir Romanov promised not so long ago.

Without the prospect of even a tilt at the InterToto Cup to look forward to, these are grim times for the Jambos, especially with Hibernian very much in the hunt for third place and the UEFA Cup slot which goes with it.

Of course, things are never so bad that they can't get worse. Gretna have already been acquainted with this painful truth and Hearts now also appear to be coming to terms with it.

Following Friday's AGM (at which, as expected, there were more questions than answers), weary Tynecastle footsoldiers would seem to have had enough.

With debts mounting, an unsustainable wage bill, a pie-in-the-sky stadium redevelopment and horrendous under-achievement on the pitch, it's hardly surprising that the Hearts support is finally beginning to fret about the motives and efficiency of the people who own their club.

Never mind Chris Robinson, Roman Romanov is quite possibly the most reviled chairman since Mao Tse Tung was in his pomp.

"I can't influence what Mr Romanov says," caretaker manager Stephen Frail said. "People have criticised the character of these players and talked about a lack of respect for the manager but they went out there today and did their jobs.

"There were a lot of people looking to see how they reacted but they proved themselves, even after going a goal down.

"We can only concentrate on the football side of things. These aren't the set of fixtures we wanted because we would have preferred to be in the top six but we're delighted with the win."

The atmosphere was muted, to say the least, and it didn't improve any when the home side were forced on to the back foot.

Andy Dorman forced a fine diving save from Steve Banks with a low drive from 20 yards but the goalkeeper was certainly culpable when Saints took the lead in the 19th minute.

Ryan McCay played a one-two with Garry Brady and advanced unchallenged before unleashing a dipping shot from 25 yards. Banks should have collected it but was slow to react and, although he got a hand to the ball, he failed to keep it out.

Fortunately for the minions currently allowed to sit in the directors' box, Hearts managed to scramble an equaliser within five minutes.

Eggert Jonsson's well-struck shot from the edge of the penalty area may or may not have troubled Mark Howard but the benign deflection it took off Will Haining left the keeper helpless.

Five minutes from half-time there was something genuinely positive to cheer when Gary Glen, making his debut, scored a quite superb goal.

He initiated the move with a pass to Jonsson, who supplied Saulius Mikoliunas on his left. The Lithuanian chipped the ball over the defence and Glen displayed composure when Howard parried his first drive to collect the rebound and slot it into the unguarded net.

Just 17, Glen revealed afterwards that he had rejected overtures from Manchester United to sign for Hearts, a decision which the Romanovs may struggle to comprehend.

The feelgood factor evaporated, however, and the atmosphere was soon as flat as it had been before Glen's intervention. A foul by Christos Karipidis on Billy Mehmet provided McCay with another crack at goal but this time the midfielder floated his free-kick over Banks' crossbar.

Hearts lost Christian Nade on the hour when the striker appeared to be concussed following a clash of heads with Haining. He was replaced by Juho Makela, whose arrival did little to lift the mood.

A fumble by Howard on the edge of the box presented the Finn with an opportunity to endear himself to the disbelievers but he didn't gain enough purchase on his shot and Haining was able to turn it behind for a corner.

Laryea Kingston, whose influence on proceedings was minimal, tested Howard with a powerful drive from distance, which the Englishman saved low to his left.

Dorman, who had been equally anonymous for the previous hour, also sprang into life and out of nowhere drilled in a 25-yarder which Banks saved with some difficulty.

For the most part, though, this was tepid fare, enlivened by two sensational strikes in the last quarter of an hour.

Gary Mason, another who had contributed little, sent a dipping volley over the despairing Banks and under his crossbar from almost 30 yards.

Mason didn't have too long to savour his achievement. Four minutes later he brought down Mikoliunas and Kingston curled the free-kick into Howard's top corner from a similar distance.

Saints haven't won away in the league in 2008 and Hearts held out comfortably enough for the final 10 minutes.