Craig Halkett gives an insight into the Hearts dressing room: 'We won't ignore what everyone is saying'

Returning to competitive action has brought mixed emotions for Craig Halkett. He spent mostly 18 months out injured and is grateful to be fit again, but playing in a losing Hearts team is not for him. Or anyone else in the Riccarton dressing room. The squad know their fighting qualities are needed now more than ever with the Edinburgh club bottom of the Premiership.

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They travel to St Mirren today desperately needing points to improve their league position and ease pressure on all concerned. Halkett played 90 minutes in their last two matches and, with fellow centre-back Frankie Kent nursing an ankle injury, is poised to retain his place in the team in Paisley. It is an opportunity to end a run of seven straight defeats and finally kickstart Hearts’ campaign.

Supporters’ frustrations are growing and those in the dressing room are fully aware of the unrest. They won’t simply ignore it and pretend it doesn’t exist. “It's a bit of both, to be honest,” admitted Halkett. “Obviously, you don't want to just ignore what everyone's saying and you want to take it on board. It's just up to us, when it comes to the weekend, to just block it out and do what we've worked on all game.

“When that comes obviously the general persona of what everyone's thinking starts to change and the mood lifts everywhere - fans, players, coaches, everything - and we start going on a run. So I think it's just getting that first win hopefully at the weekend and then things will turn from there.

“I’ve been out for 18 months, it's been difficult and stop-start. But this season has been good. It's the first year in a couple of seasons I've had a full pre-season, feeling fit and feeling ready to go. Obviously, the start of the season for myself was a bit difficult. I knew it was going to be with how well the boys did last year.

“It was just about speaking to the manager, seeing where I stood and just biding my time and waiting for the opportunity to come in. It came in the last couple of games and, although the results haven't gone our way, it was good to get back, get a couple of 90 minutes under my belt and feel like I'm trying to be in the team.

“It's really hard [to get match fitness]. Obviously you can train and do as much extras as you like, but that match sharpness is just something that can only come with games. Not so much just fitness, it's more just about the wee things that happen in game - reactions, mentally being in the positions when it happens. So we are obviously still another couple of games away from me feeling like I'm 100 per cent, but I'm getting there.”

Halkett does not shirk the fact that Hearts’ run of defeats has impacted squad morale. “The confidence is obviously not as high as it would be if we were winning games and picking up points, but it's something we're all working really hard on,” he said. “We all want the same goal - players, coaches, fans, everyone at the club. When we come in at the start of the week we're working hard, we're watching a lot of the games back and seeing what we're doing right and obviously the things that we can improve on to make sure we go and start picking up some points.

“As a group collectively we all know what the goal is and we want to win games of football. Obviously, we've not been doing that at the start. Pressure is there when you're at Hearts, you've got pressure every single game no matter whether you're winning or you're losing. So we all know what the situation is, but we're all confident that we've got the quality of squad in that changing-room that we can go and turn it around.”

A regular theme from this season’s Hearts games has been opponents setting up a low block to stifle those in maroon. Restricting space and crowding players out has worked for the likes of Dundee United and Viktoria Plzen at Tynecastle. “In general, Hearts is one of the biggest clubs in Scotland and I think teams will maybe come in and give you a wee bit more respect,” said Halkett.

“I think, off the back of last year and how well we've done, teams could potentially - I don't know, I'm not part of the teams - set up a wee bit different. But again, that's up to us to find a way to break that down and change a couple of things on our end to make sure we can go and get the win. That’s hopefully what we'll do on Saturday.

“There are wee moments in games that fall your way or don't fall your way, and they seem to not be falling our way at the moment. Whether it's a scrappy goal or a referee's decision or whatever. It's just up to us to keep doing what we're doing on the training pitch, working on it all week and putting it in place on a Saturday. Eventually, we all know that we're doing the right thing. It will turn.”

Halkett stressed keeping players together and supportive of one another is not an issue. “I don't think so, we've got a great group,” he said. “I don't think it's a case of working harder because we're all working as hard as we can every day. The manager emphasises that and training's been really good most weeks. On a Saturday we’re just coming a little bit short. So, again, if we keep doing what we're doing I'm sure it will turn.”