CHRISTOPHE Berra has conceded the next four games are crucial for Ian Cathro – but insisted his side can ease the mounting pressure on the Hearts manager by inflicting a first domestic defeat in over a season on Celtic this weekend.
Cathro was booed by his own supporters as the Edinburgh club finished third in their Betfred Cup qualifying group and failed to progress to the knockout stages at the weekend and calls for him to be sacked have grown since.
Berra, who returned to Tynecastle in the summer, revealed that some harsh words had been spoken in the home dressing room following the costly 2-2 draw with their Championship opponents Dunfermline on Saturday.
However, the Hearts captain believes his side has the perfect opportunity to silence the manager’s critics in the opening Ladbrokes Premiership match of the 2017/18 campaign against the defending champions at Parkhead this weekend.
The Scotland centre half is determined to help his club get off to a positive start in the league in their opening four matches against Celtic, Kilmarnock, Rangers and Motherwell away.
“Everyone saw the reaction of the fans after the game,” he said. “They were not happy. If you don’t win games, no matter who you play for, the fans are going to show their frustration.
“I understand it. We were the biggest team on paper in the group and we should have had maximum points in the group. We should be winning. If we don’t take our chances, it gives teams a chance to stay in the match.
“At the moment, we are not getting the results against teams we should be blowing away, really. Tynecastle should be a place where visiting teams are on the back foot and we should be doing better.
“It’s sport. It’s football. It’s a cut-throat business. If we are not producing the goods, the management and the players will get stick and it’s well deserved.”
Berra added: “As players, we have to take responsibility. We have to stand and be counted and get through it. We know we have to improve our away record and the first four games are either going to be the making of us or not. We’ll be doing our best to go to Parkhead and do what no team has done in the past 12 months and get a victory.
“Then we have Kilmarnock, Rangers and Motherwell away and Aberdeen after that for our first home game and they are flying at the moment. In this league, there is no easy game and it’s down to us to put in the performances.”
Berra, who returned to Hearts in the summer after spells at Wolves and Ipswich Town, admitted the players had all had it out with each other following the Dunfermline game, but predicted they would be the better for it going forward.
“We had a good discussion after the game,” he said. “Things have to change. The changing room has a good atmosphere, there are no bad eggs, it’s been a joy to work in. But sometimes you have to be nasty and sometimes it’s better to talk straight after the game in the heat of the moment and for people give their opinions.
“I told the boys to speak up and they did. There might have been a few harsh words between us, but that’s the case with every club I’ve been at and every club in the country.
“You have highs and lows in football. It’s about showing character and we need to change things because the fans aren’t happy at the moment and we need to get them on our side.
“As captain, you make your point to players during training sessions and after games. The discussion we had after Saturday’s match was about what we have to do to turn draws into victories.
“I’ll always give 100 per cent on the pitch and when it comes to saying harsh words. But even when I’m shouting at someone and having a go at them it doesn’t mean I don’t like them. It’s all done in the heat of the moment and sometimes people need a kick up the backside.
“Hopefully, you get a reaction from that and there could be no better place to react than Parkhead. I’ve done it there with Hearts in the past. Celtic are flying high right now, but it would be a massive statement.
“Even if we go to Parkhead and win that is not enough – we need to keep on winning and get as many points as we can, not just in the first four but the whole 38 game league season and we need to finish in Europe.”
Berra stressed he had enjoyed working under Cathro, whose appointment as Hearts manager at the end of last year at the age of just 30 made him the young manager in the history of the Scottish top flight, since arriving in the summer.
“Since I’ve been at the club training has been first class,” he said. “Everything we do with Austin McPhee and Graham Fox has been well run. We’re just not taking that on to the pitch, which is where it counts.”
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