Ryan Stevenson wishes some of Robbie Neilson's critics would get off his back as he claimed Hearts finishing third in the Premiership still wouldn't be enough for some.
The Jambos are 10 points clear in third spot, but the manager has been under fire for recent performances in the league and their Scottish Cup fifth-round penalty shootout win over Livingston.
The Gorgie men are without a win in three in the league but Stevenson, a former Jam Tarts midfielder, has called for perspective.
The Scottish Cup and European football is still very much within their grasp as Stevenson used their 2012 cup win to illustrate his point that performances don't always have to be brilliant to achieve results.
And the 37-year-old thinks delivering a trophy is the only way to silence the doubters.
"Hearts 5 Hibs 1. There’s an important reason to mention an unforgettable Scottish Cup Final win back in 2012," he said in his Daily Record column.
"Obviously any excuse to give this scoreline another outing shouldn’t be passed up, but it’s also to highlight a path to Hampden people tend to forget.
"Other scorelines from that run, Hearts 1 Auchinleck Talbot 0 and Hearts 2 St Mirren 0 after a replay that included a 30-yard trundler from Jamie Hamill I still can’t believe found the back of the net.
"Nobody talks about these struggles, it’s all about the glory and it’s why Saturday’s penalty shootout win over Livingston was box ticked and job done.
"Getting into the next round was all that mattered. It’s a cliche, but it’s also true. Hearts have had a tough schedule recently with a few disappointing results so I was glad to hear Robbie Neilson saying he was giving his players some well-earned rest after eight games in 26 days.
"I’d also wish some Jambos would get off his back. Neilson was expected to lead Hearts to promotion last season by winning the Championship. He did that, but for some reason it didn’t put much credit in his bank.
"It wasn’t always great to watch, there were no fans, the games were being played through a pandemic and they did what they needed to do.
"Last season they were expected to win every league game. When they won it was no biggie, par for the course.
"When they lose, it’s an absolute catastrophe, just look at their defeat at Brora last season in the cup, listening to some fans it was like the end of days.
"That criticism has never really gone away from some quarters and it’s going to take winning a cup for certain fans to be converted into the Neilson camp. I hate to say this, but even finishing third this season won’t be enough for some people.
"That would be a stunning achievement for Neilson, but he’d still start next season under pressure if there was a shaky start. It’s just the way it is with some sections of the support.
"If he was to put the Scottish Cup on the table even the biggest cynics would have to eat their words. What Hearts need is a cup run and a good cup run at that."
