UCHE Ikpeazu has put his considerable weight behind under-pressure Hearts manager Craig Levein after the Tynecastle side lost at home in an Edinburgh derby for the first time in six years.

Levein was the target for numerous howls of derision at the full-time whistle as Hibernian leapfrogged their oldest foes in the table and dunted Hearts down to sixth place. With a Scottish Cup semi-final coming up this weekend, Hearts still have opportunities to salvage a frustrating season and powerful frontman Ikpeazu is confident Levein is the man to steer the club towards success.

He said: “Craig Levein has done a great job for this club. We are in the semi-finals, we are still trying to get in the top four. I don’t see why anybody should get on to him. “He’s a good manager and a good person and we’re all right behind him. I believe we can still achieve a few things this season. It’s about having a positive mind set. “You can’t win every game but we’ll have good times and bad times, that’s football. If we played how we played on Saturday [in the semi-final] then we’ll be fine. There’s no pressure.”

Ikpeazu endured a frustrating day in a physical tussle with the Hibernian defenders but he bit his tongue in the aftermath when asked if referee, Willie Collum, had been too lenient with his markers.

The 24-year-old, who recovered from a head knock the previous weekend to make his first start in an capital clash, added: “I’m not going to comment on that. Everyone watching the game will have their own opinions on that. “It was tough but sometimes you don’t get decisions that go your way.

“I hate losing any game. I approach every game as if it’s my last; league games, semi-finals, they mean a lot to me. “We have to be positive. We are a team who can bounce back from losses. They [the fans] should be angry. We lost. But we will bounce back.”