HEARTS manager Craig Levein insists he will reinforce the positives of the Betfred Cup group campaign to his players following stinging criticism from supporters at the weekend.

Levein bore the brunt of the fans’ anger after the top-flight club lost out on a bonus point to League One East Fife after a shoot-out following a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes.

The Gorgie side still progressed to the last-16, where they face an away trip to Motherwell, as Group A winners but that did little to assuage the feeling among the traveling support in Methil.

However, former Scotland manager Levein admits the four-game group section, which also included outings against Dundee United, Cowdenbeath and Stenhousemuir, was largely encouraging.

Levein, whose side begin their Premiership campaign away to

Aberdeen on Sunday, said: “Our fans expect to win and so do we. Our objective was to get into the Betfred Cup’s next round and we’ve done that. Now we can focus on the league.

“There have been no adverse effects. I think sometimes, if there is a bit of discontent, it’s quite good to recognise that and understand supporters expect not just to qualify from the group but to win comfortably.

“I’ve watched all four games back and we did a lot of good things in them. They tend to be overshadowed if you aren’t winning 3-0 or 4-0 in these games as there is a definite focus on the negativity. It’s my job to make sure we don’t just do that. We also need to recognise that there have also been areas of the team functioning very well. The answer is always somewhere in the middle.”

Hearts striker Conor Washington, meanwhile, looks set to sit out the trip to Pittodrie after sustaining an eye injury in last week’s 2-1 victory over Stenhousemuir.

The Northern Ireland cap, who joined from Sheffield United earlier this summer, was taken to hospital after the game to be checked out before then being examined by an ophthalmologist.