Robbie Neilson admitted Hearts had lost their spark - but insists an electric Tynecastle will see them burst back to life in Thursday’s Europa Conference League group stage opener.
The Jambos, who have now lost five of their last six and are yet to keep a clean sheet after nine games this season, opened brightly against Livingston. But after falling behind in the 28th minute they ran out of steam and ideas and didn't register a single shot on target.
Craig Halkett is set to return in defence when Mesut Ozil’s Istanbul Basaksehir arrive in Gorgie for the opening Group A game on Thursday. And ahead of that one, Neilson said: “There will be 20,000 fans there and it's European football. The most important thing for us is getting energy back in the group. We have five days to prepare now. Over the last week or two it's been relentless, now we have a wee bit of a break before the next match.
“The first 20 minutes we did well, did everything we spoke about, and then we got caught up in the game. We weren't good enough after that. Similar to Wednesday night, we didn't have that spark because of fatigue in the team. We need to get that energy back for the final moment."
Neilson insists returning players including Halkett and Stephen Kingsley, who played 90 minutes at Livi, will give Hearts a boost ahead of Thursday. He said: “We've got a few players coming back and we've got a bit of time to recover. We've asked this group to go again and again.
“Halkett was touch and got for today. The original injury is okay, he just had a wee spasm. He should be back for Thursday and will be a big positive.”
Neilson admits there could be more free agent signings after Zander Clark penned a three year deal on Friday. He said: “We are still looking. Experience tells you that it usually takes a week to ten days, then people start realising: 'That's an option for me.’”
