Gary Mackay: Hearts players must look at themselves after unacceptable Alloa loss

Hearts' Jamie Walker (left) was judged to have fouled Alloa's Robert Thomson in a key moment during Saturday's Betfred Cup tie.

I gave my thoughts on the result against Dunfermline and the players did well to bounce back against Alloa in the league. However, Saturday was another level of disappointment.

We can debate the validity of the penalty decision, but Hearts should not be going to Alloa and losing over 120 minutes. It’s not good enough as a club.

I feel for Ann Budge because I look at the investment she has made to help keep the club in a good place financially. Unfortunately, under her stewardship we have suffered a few really awful results.

There was the 5-0 loss at Livingston – a defeat which is on a par with the 6-0 reverse I played in against Falkirk. Last year there was a draw at East Fife in the Betfred Cup before we lost a penalty shootout. Now we’ve just lost at Alloa.

You can’t blame it on the owner, it’s just these results are happening during her time. What has to happen now is that players have to be self-evaluating. They need to look at their own individual input and what they do to help their team-mates.

Saturday’s result puts the players and Robbie Neilson under pressure. Two results out of the last three have been poor, but particularly the one at the weekend.

In a sense we were lucky that it was the League Cup we were playing in and not the league, because I think that tournament is probably the least of the priorities this season.

It should send out a message that, no matter the opponents, Hearts need to be at it from the first minute. We have to get at the other team, using the fact we are a full-time club and by some distance the biggest club in a league we should be able to win.

We can’t afford too many more results like that because you either find yourself out of a cup competition, like we did on Saturday, or we give ourselves more ground to make up in a shortened league season.

I don’t think we should just look at new signings even though people are questioning some of them. Some guys have been at Hearts for a long period of time and have been part to the results I’ve mentioned.

The self-evaluation has to be done by every player, new and old. I made the point last week about the academy not turning out players, so the first-team squad has plenty players with a good level of experience.

It’s not nice playing in the Championship. I played at that level for Hearts at the old Boghead and Kilbowie Park in the year we got promoted. But this is the result of poor results last season.

Nobody can question the ability of the players in Hearts’ first-team squad. They showed their capabilities against Hibs in a Scottish Cup final just over four weeks ago.

You can’t pick and choose this season, though. If Hearts pick and choose we will find ourselves under even more unnecessary pressure.

Ann Budge loans Hearts a seven-figure sum

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