Robert Snodgrass insists Hearts must snap out of a miserable run of form and stand up and be counted.
The veteran midfielder has been hugely alarmed at the collapse in the pasts month with the Jambos losing four of their last five Premiership matches and that has allowed Aberdeen to slash the gap between third and fourth to just one point with finishing best of the rest behind Celtic and Rangers almost certainly carrying group stage European football next season.
The 35-year-old reckons they have been experiencing moments of madness with the latest debacle coming at Kilmarnock on Saturday when they crashed to a 2-1 defeat against 10 men.
READ MORE: Robbie Neilson major questions for Hearts stars as boo boys addressed after Kilmarnock flop
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He said: “Let’s tell it like it is, because that’s the only way to get better. There are 10, 15-minute spells where we don’t play our usual style and have moments of madness that really cost us.
“Against Aberdeen the other week, against Motherwell before that, against Celtic and again at Kilmarnock, it keeps happening. We haven’t been good enough, there needs to be a better Hearts team out there.
“We need to have a right good look at ourselves, any successful team needs a togetherness, a never-say-die attitude when you’re not playing well. It’s a demand that comes with wanting to be the third best team in the country.
“The fans travel in large numbers and they don’t deserve what we gave them here.
He said: “It’s back to the drawing board to look at who we are. These moments of madness are clear to see, it’s a tough little spell for us all, we’re not winning our individual battles, simple as that. There’s no point sugar-coating it.
“I don’t know why Kilmarnock should be hungrier than us, not when we’re going for third and to get this great football club into Europe on a regular basis. The disappointing thing is that this has been creeping in for a few weeks now and we haven’t found a way to stop it. It’s not been good, not good at all."
The veteran midfielder insists they must get their act together in the remaining matches. He added: “You get confidence by playing well, no one comes in off the street and gives you it. People need to know what Hearts are turning up and right now we don’t know that. We all take full responsibility for that.
“We need to be right by each other’s side now, because these are the weeks of the season when things are won and lost. You need that hunger in your belly.”
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