Four talking points: Fury from the fans, the biggest flaw with the Hearts team, Michael Smith's milestone

The key talking points after Hearts slumped to defeat against St Mirren at Tynecastle.

Fury from fans

If many hadn’t already reached breaking point then it certainly came during this encounter. There were grumbles in the first half as negative passing put the home side under pressure before the half-time whistle brought with it a burst of boos. The first goal brought further ire before stands started to empty in the aftermath of the second. When Robert Snodgrass received a second yellow the game was done and the remaining attendance further reflected that. Of those who stayed, they vociferously jeered both players and management at the full-time whistle as the losing run reached five games.

Tactical trouble

Neilson stuck with the same 4-2-3-1 system that he moved the team into for last weekend’s defeat to Kilmarnock but changed up the personnel, making four changes (two enforced) as he looked to haul Hearts out of this slump. Snodgrass was pushed further forward in the No.10 role with the returning Cammy Devlin and Andy Halliday tasked with providing the legs for the veteran midfielder. Out wide Alan Forrest and Jorge Grant were preferred to Stephen Humphrys and Barrie McKay. James Hill also came in for Toby Sibbick.

None of it worked. Hill started brightly but his passing soon became erratic. Grant was often forced backwards when receiving the ball on the left flank as he doesn’t really possess the tools to take on defenders and swing in balls with his weaker left foot. Halliday didn’t improve the performance of the midfield area, while Snodgrass again had the ball taken off him too often with the opposition focusing on quickly closing down the Scottish international whenever he received it.

Neilson moved back to the 3-5-2 after the second goal, which quickly became a 3-4-2 after Snodgrass’ ill-advised lunge on Curtis Main. It’s likely the Hearts boss will return to that for the game against Hibs next week. The only problem...

Losing midfield battle

St Mirren striker Curtis Main celebrates after firing St Mirren into the lead at Tynecastle in the 2-0 win over Hearts. Picture: SNS

The centre of the park has been a huge problem area for Neilson over recent weeks. Snodgrass was a hugely important player earlier in the campaign. If you remember games such as the win over Motherwell, he ran the show from the centre, showing great poise in possession and progressive passing. But his influence has been waning every game and this contest wasn’t any better even before his red card. Meanwhile, Grant and Orestis Kiomourtzoglou have continued to underwhelm, Devlin has had his poorest stretch of the campaign and Halliday has been in and out.

Hearts are consistently losing the battle for second balls while there’s a problem linking the play from defence through to midfield into the attack. There needs to be a solution and quickly or this campaign is going to completely disintegrate before it’s even run its course.

Unhappy milestone

The right-back was playing in his 200th game for Hearts, which has him in 76th in the club’s all-time appearance holders. However, he was sacrificed before the hour-mark with Hearts chasing the game. The Northern Irishman’s commitment to the club over the years cannot be questioned. It’s a shame such a milestone came on a day like this.