Halkett insists under-fire Hearts manager Levein has full support of players
Craig Halkett insists Hearts players are fully behind manager Craig Levein despite the criticism he has received following their slow start to the season.Leveins men find themselves 11th in the Ladbrokes Premiership table after picking up just two points from their first four league games of the new campaign.Some fans have reacted by calling for Levein to quit but defender Halkett, who moved to Tynecastle from Livingston in the summer, says the boss has the backing of the squad.With the results, weve been close to getting the three points and its been maybe one or two wee mistakes that have cost us, said Halkett, speaking at the launch of the SPFL Match Attax 2019/20 trading card game.So I think as a squad and as a player myself were all behind the manager and we dont think theres any pressure there just now.Were just four games in and I know as fans its disappointing, you want to see your team winning every game. But I think as players and the coaching staff, we know where were going wrong and how to rectify that going forward.Halkett thinks the international break came at a good time for the club as they prepare to resume their campaign against Motherwell at the weekend.Training-wise and as a squad, weve done well, he added. Weve worked on quite a few things defensively and going forward so were just looking forward to the game on Saturday.Obviously the results have not been great so I think it came at a good time for us. Just to get a break from the league and regroup as players and as a squad and management to work on what were doing going forward.Halkett had been tipped for a call-up to Steve Clarkes Scotland squad for the recent defeats against Russia and Belgium.The 24-year-old was not disheartened when the call did not come but he has set his sights on representing his country in the future.He said: I wasnt too disappointed. Obviously its a big step in your career to be called up to the national squad.Its something Id love to do in the future and its something Im striving towards.I think with Scotlands defensive record just now, theyve got a lot of defenders who have been in and out of the squad. Its kind of varied over the last few squads.So I think there is a gap for other players and new players to get in there.Obviously thats down to the manager who hes wanting to pick.:: Craig Halkett was speaking at the SPFL Match Attax 2019/20 launch for more news and info follow @ToppsMatchAttax on Twitter and Facebook, @toppsmatchattax_ on Instagram and subscribe to MatchAttaxOFFICIAL on YouTube(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
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