Forget Fiorentina and ignore Istanbul. You can even put Celtic and Rangers to the side. Hearts’ biggest game of the season has just become Ross County.
And if anything sums up the rut the Jambos find themselves in then it’s the sudden importance of Sunday’s trip to Dingwall. Sound strange? Maybe. But Hearts are in a helluva rut and if the losing streak continues against the rock bottom Staggies then there’ll be just two points between the sides.
Then it really would be panic stations in Gorgie. The Europa League is a bonus and Thursday’s clash with RFS at Tynecastle offers a good chance for a morale booster. But Ross County is much bigger. If Hearts don’t start picking up league wins regularly and getting in the groove then by the World Cup break they could find themselves in a real s****y position. And that’s only four games away.
County are up first then it’s Motherwell, Rangers and Livingston. And they should be looking to win all four. All that matters this season is finishing third again. That’s the be all and end all. Aberdeen are flying right now and Hearts need to keep in touch.
Robbie Neilson said this week that they’re already working on January signings. They’ve been depleted by injuries in every area so it’s hard to tell where he’ll be looking to strengthen.
I understand that they need to plan ahead behind the scenes. But what’s far more important is actually getting to January in a good position. And that falls on the boys that are fit and playing right now. As a group representing the club they need to do better.
If they get to January and are cut adrift from the top three or four then it won’t matter who they sign. But turn things round in the next four matches and get themselves right in the mix again then January recruitment will hopefully put them in a good position to pull away from the pack.
The good news? Sunday’s breathless defeat to Celtic showed there’s plenty of signs of life in Neilson’s squad despite the six-game winless run. Hearts were on the front foot, aggressive and scored three goals against the champions and league leaders.
It was a million miles better than the previous few performances. But if that level isn’t reached against Ross County and they don’t win then the performance against Celtic will count for nothing.
You’ve got to feel for Lawrence Shankland. The first player to score a hat-trick against Celtic in a domestic game for 37 years - and he still ends up on the losing side!
That’s horrendous. It reminded me a bit of when I scored twice in the 2013 League Cup Final but still finished second best. Nobody remembers I scored two goals at Hampden, it was all about St Mirren.
We went back to Tynecastle after that 3-2 defeat and it was decorated for a party in case we had won. We had a few drinks to mull over things and I actually broke down in tears thinking about how close I’d come to becoming a Hampden hero only to end up a zero.
Likewise Sunday was cruel on Lawrence. Everyone goes away talking about Celtic and few people will remember his goals.
But there’s no way he’ll allow that to affect him. He’s has been fantastic since he came in and when Hearts play on the front foot like they did against Celtic it suits him because they make more chances. That’s what needs to continue against Ross County. If they are at it and in the faces of Malky Mackay’s players for a full 90 minutes then they should win the game.
Forget playing pretty football out from the back. It’s time to roll the sleeves up. Hearts fans will tell you that the identity of the club is to get after teams on the park and that’s what’s needed now.
More than any other the Celtic defeat showed how much the injuries to Craig Halkett and Kye Rowles is hurting Hearts. With those two on the park I’m sure they’d have taken something from the game.
But that doesn’t act as an excuse. They have a big squad and whoever comes in has pressure to do well. If you’re going to have success then the 25-man squad has to play its part.
I’ve seen suggestions from some that Craig Gordon needs to be rested and Zander Clark given his chance. I don’t buy into that at all.
At times age can be a stigma and Craig has played a lot of games for club and country. He made a big mistake against Kilmarnock and maybe should have done better for one of the Celtic goals. But while Zander is a very good goalkeeper, no way would I be dropping Craig.
Playing out from the back is not helping him. The goalkeeper always gets punished if that goes wrong. But he continues to pull off massive saves and it’s up to his team mates to capitalise.
The captain will have a huge role to play in Dingwall. It’s up to the entire team to step up and stop the rot.
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