Ryan Stevenson believes the sight of Hibs "appearing in the rear-view mirror" should be the kick up the backside Hearts need to get their season back on track.
The Jambos have been going through a stick patch of late that culminated in a 2-1 defeat at Premiership strugglers St Johnstone on Saturday.
That result, coupled with the Hibees' 2-0 win over Ross County which lifted Shaun Maloney's men to fourth, leaves the Jam Tarts nine points ahead in third spot.
And former Gorgie midfielder Stevenson believes their Edinburgh rivals cutting the gap should be enough to reignite their season in which he believes they've been either "amazing or s**t".
In his Daily Record column, Stevenson said: "Robbie Neilson admitted Hearts were missing a spark last week.
"But I’ll tell you what - if Hibs suddenly appearing in the rear-view mirror isn’t enough to hit the ignition then I don’t know is.
"Defeat in Paisley this weekend could see the wheels completely come off what was promising to be a brilliant season.
"Robbie Neilson should have been stripping the paint off the dressing room walls after that defeat to St Johnstone on Saturday. Hopefully he was.
"The next few weeks are a massive test of whether this side have the minerals for the fight.
"You can talk the talk. But it’s now up to the players to walk the walk ahead of a really difficult trip to face St Mirren.
"There seems to be no middle ground at the moment - they are either amazing or they are s***.
"It’s a must-win game in Paisley. As I said another defeat and it could turn into a tail spin."
