STEPHEN FRAIL sat hunched at the front of Hearts' team coach outside Fir Park with head in hands. A sympathetic pat on the shoulder from the driver offered no consolation. Losing to Gretna was the final ignominy.
For all the caretaker manager's contagious enthusiasm, Hearts have wound up woefully short this season.
Frail looked tired and drained of emotion on Tuesday night but must now endure a summer of uncertainty regarding his own future, with Vladimir
Romanov again preparing to re-organise the management structure at Riccarton.
Wandering past the Park's of Hamilton bus late into the evening, it was tempting to tap the window and ask Frail to reveal his true thoughts. It has been said that Hearts have employed more coaches than the Lanarkshire transport firm in recent years, but does the current incumbent expect to join the extensive list of casualties?
Reflecting on a soulless display against Gretna, a clearly deflated Frail said: "At the minute, I've no holiday planned.
"That's for a couple of reasons which I'd rather keep. I just need to wait. There's been no definite date given. After that (losing to Gretna] I don't think ... well, I don't know.
"It'll be a long summer. Whatever decision is made I'll deal with. Since taking over we've had results that would have had us in the top three.
"At the end of the day I'm still culpable for things that are going on at the club.
"I've said to the players that all of them and every member of staff has to take responsibility for what's happened this season."
Frail has incurred some venomous supporter feedback since being appointed caretaker manager of Hearts in January. He has often found himself shouldering blame and consequently protecting players who aren't always keen to use their own initiative.
Following an unremarkable end to the season, he opted to lay bare some home truths and for the first time edged towards rounding on his players with some brutally frank comments.
"I think we could have done with more characters.
"We're a relatively inexperienced team as regards the SPL. When the chips are really down and it's backs against the wall, sometimes a manager shouldn't need to say anything.
"I've got a squad of players who, in my opinion, are as good as anything outside the Old Firm. They haven't shown it this season and we need to add quality to it. But they're just nice boys.
"When something happens in training, it's looked upon as a negative or a rare occurrence.
"It takes everybody aback when they see somebody pointing the finger or grabbing someone and saying 'you're not doing it, you're not working hard enough'. You need that.
"After the training session, you should be able to go in, have a shower and a bit of lunch and laugh about it.
"We all should have the same goal and I think we all have, but we all need to be on the same path going towards it.
"Some of us are on different paths in terms of outside distractions. We need everybody to be focused.
"If we had more characters, they would drag the rest through.
"At the moment we have nice boys but sometimes you need that wee bit of nastiness in the right way. It's clear to see that's one of the things we lack along with quality."
Most galling of all for supporters has been the apathy which has characterised certain Hearts players' performances throughout the last ten months, a central factor in their bottom-six finish. This was exemplified with the nature of the team's capitulation against Gretna.
For every tenacious tackle by Michael Stewart, there is what can only be described as a Kestutis Ivaskevicius moment to undermine it.
"I can see where that comes from," conceded Frail. "It's always been levelled at us because of all the nationalities we have. We can only do so much.
"When they cross the line they'll say they're up for it, whether they are or not is another thing.
"Sometimes things go against you or you don't start a game well. What I've said to them is that too many of them were in their shells throughout the season.
"You need characters and big players. Some of them were quite happy even if they weren't involved in a game, even before I took charge.
"Very rarely did I see anyone going up and knocking on the manager's door asking why they weren't playing. You want that, especially when you're going through a bad time.
"I can understand the fans' frustration because they are the lifeblood.
"They're the only constant and loyal thing at any football club. They'll be feeling it more than anybody."
Frail may indeed have an inkling of his own fate, but for the moment he continues preparing Hearts for a restoration attempt next season. "I can only do that. I can't stop because there's no games left," he said.
"I've not been told if I'm the manager or if I'm here in any capacity.
"I need to prepare and make sure everything's right. If I'm not here and I lose my job, I want somebody to walk in to the right preparation and they can carry it on.
"The most important thing is the football club. There's no-one bigger than any club and there's certainly no-one bigger than Hearts. As long as things are right for us next year, I'm sure we can be successful."
Frail has given his all, it's not been sufficient. Others haven't given two hoots. Now it's down to Romanov. The forthcoming month could be the most critical of the majority shareholder's tenure as he seeks a new manager and several new players. Above all, the issues highlighted by Frail must be addressed for Hearts' sake and for the former full-back's sanity.
Hearts' interim manager on...THE TEAM: "We could have done with more characters. We have nice boys but you need that bit of nastiness in the right way"
THE FANS: "They're the only constant and loyal thing at any football club. They'll be feeling it more than anybody"
HIS FUTURE: I've not been told if I'll be the manager or if I'll be here in any capacity. But I need to prepare and make sure everything's right."
The full article contains 1060 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
