Hibs boss Neil Lennon hits back at ‘disrespectful’ Craig Levein

Hibernian boss Neil Lennon has branded Craig Levein “disrespectful” after the Hearts manager claimed natural order had been restored in the Edinburgh derby.

Don Cowie scored the only goal in a scrappy 1-0 win at Tynecastle to put the Jambos in the hat for the fifth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup.

It was a first win in nine in the derby for Hearts – who historically have the better record in the fixture – which led a relieved Levein to claim that he wanted to “restore the natural order of things”.

An angry Lennon hit back at the former Scotland boss.

“What does that mean? Restoring natural order?” Lennon said. “I don’t understand what that is – Hearts beating Hibs every time?

“It’s just a crock of c**p. I think it’s a pretty poor statement to make and disrespectful to the club, players and me.

“We have two games to come so we will see if natural order is restored then.

“It’s not good, I don’t know what he means by that but they haven’t won in nine, it’s my first defeat in five and we should have won the game here (last time when Oli Shaw saw a legitimate goal not given in a 0-0 draw).

“There’s a lack of humility in that statement, I don’t think I’ve ever made a statement like that.”

He added: “I have to congratulate my players.

“It’s been a hell of a run in the derbies and it’s come to an end so we will have to accept it and pick ourselves up for an intense few weeks.”

Levein had earlier admitted that ending the winless run against Hibs had been crucial, and the relief was reflected in his celebrations at the full-time whistle when he turned to celebrate in front of the main stand.

“It’s a massive win for us,” he said. “The longer the run goes on the more difficult it becomes and the more steely Hibs become.

“We had to break it as soon as possible.

“A lot of it (the celebration) was relief because Hibs were gaining some momentum (in the fixture) and I wanted to restore the natural order of things.”

He added: “We have stopped the run of games Hibs had.

“We have won the cup tie and are through to the next round and those are good things to me.

“I think we deserved to win and that’s important.”