Raging Ryan Stevenson demands ‘disrespectful’ Hearts rebel to ‘stop the nonsense’

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Ryan Stevenson admits he was enraged after reading what Hearts forward Kenneth Vargas had to say about his desire to leave the club.

And now the former Jambos star has urged the Costa Rican rebel to cut the ‘nonsense’ and do his talking on the pitch to win the supporters over.

Hearts fans were outraged when Vargas delivered a shocking transfer exit admission with hopes of playing in a better standard league against better players.

He also said that there could be chance of leaving Tynecastle in January and a clause in his contract could allow him to depart despite just being months into a new five-year deal.

Vargas then issued a grovelling statement on Instagram to clarify that his comments were misinterpreted and that Hearts is his home.

But regardless of the backtracking, Stevenson has slammed Vargas for the ill-advised and ‘disrespectful’ interview given to ESPN back in Costa Rica.

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Hearts hero Stevenson rips into Kenneth Vargas

Writing in the Daily Record, Stevenson said: “Kenneth Vargas will likely be on a flight back to Scotland from Central America today.

“I just wonder what kind of reception he’ll get from Neil Critchley and his teammates when he lands back at the Oriam after his ill-advised comments on Costa Rica duty.

“It’s disrespectful to his teammates. It’s disrespectful to the fans. It’s disrespectful to the league. Regardless of how good Kenny thinks he is, he needs to realise he is where he is.

“Listen, I’ve calmed down and now see it as an opportunity to lay it on the line to the player. It all boils down to his footballing ability when he is representing Hearts and he needs to do so much better.

“Is Vargas good enough to go and play at a higher level like he thinks he is? No. At times he struggles to get in this Hearts side. That’s the truth of the matter.

“He needs to re-evaluate where he is right now and focus on proving that he deserves a start for Hearts. He simply doesn’t score enough goals.

“His miss against Rangers in the last game when he was one on one with Jack Butland summed him up. If you want to play for Hearts never mind an even higher level then those chances in those games have to be buried.

“He got my back up a few weeks ago when he did the shush celebration after scoring in a 4-0 win against St Mirren. That was disrespectful too.

“He has to stop the nonsense and start to deliver regularly. If he doesn’t we all know what way it will go. Listen, we all make mistakes. And everyone wants to play at the highest level. That’s fair enough. But those comments were ill-judged.

“The only way he will ever put everything right now is by doing his talking on the park. That’s the experience I had when I came back to Hearts less than a year after leaving to go to Ipswich.

“I knew if I did well for the supporters on the park then all would be forgiven.”

Vargas handed Hearts challenge

“If Vargas can do that in then next three games then that would be a massive help. Celtic at Tynecastle on Saturday is followed by a trip to face Cercle Bruges in Europe then Aberdeen back in Gorgie – all in the space of eight days.

“Celtic are so far ahead of everyone it’s going to take a massive performance from everyone. That’s the minimum requirement.

“If Vargas plays then he has to take any chance that comes his way. Then he might just discover the Hearts fans can be a forgiving bunch.”