I saw enough to be upbeat about Hearts’ guts for title race.

Despite their setback to Hibernian, Craig Levein saw enough in Heart of Midlothian’s performance to believe they are still capable of competing for the crown.

Hibsstorm took a two-goal lead at Easter Road thanks to Jamie McGrath and Josh Campbell after a dreadful first half.

It got worse when Kieron Bowie added a third goal early in the second half.Derek McInnes had moved to a 3-5-2 formation at halftime, and while it took the club some time to adjust, they ended strong.They will believe they could have won a draw.

Lawrence Shankland’s header from replacement Harry Milne’s cross got things going, and Cammy Devlin converted the rebound from Alexandros Kyziridis’ effort to keep things intriguing.

Raphael Sallinger then blocked Shankland’s attempt to make it 3-3 and saved Beni Baningime’s shot. Overall, it was a subpar performance, but the character that has been present throughout the season was on exhibit once more.

The result provides Celtic the opportunity to close the gap to three points if they beat Livingston this afternoon, while still having a game in hand.

However, former player and manager Levein is unconcerned about the implications of the performance, including any prospective race. “I believe they have the guts,” he told Sky Sports.

“I believe they’ve demonstrated this in a number of games, most notably the Motherwell encounter (3-3 draw from 3-0 down), and they’ll be able to take something away from today’s game.

Despite being 3-0 down, Hibs has scored two goals and the goalkeeper has had to make a couple of stops to get the game across the line.

“But there’s enough there for Derek not to dismiss it, and the performance has improved, and things are moving in the right direction. I believe he will be pleased with his performance, especially near the end.

They showed amazing courage late in the game and continued to play aggressively to the end.” The 61-year-old believes the management team and players will not focus too much on this one game, with a meeting early in the week before facing Livingston at home next Saturday.He continued, “I believe they will clear the air at the beginning of the week.

I’m sure there have been far too many fantastic matches and moments this season to focus on one negative aspect. And I believe Derek is experienced enough to have them picked up and ready to travel by next week.”

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