Hearts boss Daniel Stendel perplexed by lack of fight after meek defeat by St Mirren

Hearts manager Daniel Stendel struggled to explain his players' lack of fight after the 1-0 defeat at St Mirren. Relegation fears increased in Paisley as Jon Obika's early second-half strike left the Edinburgh club four points behind at the bottom of the Premiership.

A tame display by the visitors brought jeers and criticism from more than 1,300 travelling fans, with Stendel admitting his team did not look ready for the battle.

"It was a big disappointment. From the first moment we were not ready for this game," he said.

"We did not play how we wanted and St Mirren played how we expected. Not everybody was ready to take on this fight and win this duel. This is the biggest disappointment. We conceded a goal in the second half and again it was more our fault than a great chance, but it decided the game.

"I cannot understand it. I have no reasons for this, especially after our results last week [beating Rangers and Hibs, then drawing with Motherwell]. There are no reasons for a performance like this. I expected a bit different but when you play a first half like that, no-one expected a performance like that.

"It was 0-0 at half-time and we had 45 minutes to win the game. It's not the first time this season that we lost a goal in the first few minutes after half-time.

"We did not react in the right way. We tried in the second half but we did not have so many chances. St Mirren did not have many big chances in the first half. They had one shot which was a really good save from Bobby [Zlamal]. A lot of things were not right tonight - our performance and some other performances on the pitch."

Stendel is determined not to give up but, with only eight league games remaining, knows Hearts are running out of time to preserve their top-flight status.

"I said to the players that it's not the final decision but it's a big punch for us, especially after last week," he stated.

"I can say that I never give up and I expect this from my players. No matter whether we win or lose, we cannot play with so little fight for our position in the league and for our club. The first half was not enough.

"Everybody can understand my disappointment about this game. Sometimes you need a little bit of time to find the right words. You stand in front of 18 players after losing one of the biggest games maybe in the season, but this is not the end of the league. This is the little bit of hope we have. The next game is in a few days but it is not easy with every game less."

Hearts now travel to Livingston on Sunday with the need for points increasing another notch. "I haven't thought yet about how many games we need to win," said Stendel. "I need to understand what happened tonight. I think I need one day to look ahead to the next games. Our next game is Sunday and we need wins. With performances like this, we will not have so many wins.

The St MIrren manager Jim Goodwin advised his players not to get carried away as they jumped to ninth in the table. However, he admitted beating Hearts was a significant result. "It's a big night for the club, the biggest game of the season. It was massive that we didn't lose," he said.

"I wanted to make sure we kept the gap at three at least, so I didn't think we needed to go gung-ho to win the game. I thought it was more of a must-win game for Hearts, to be honest. Extending that gap over them to six points is a huge relief.

"It's significant because if you lose then you go bottom of the table all of a sudden. Winning it and jumping up a couple of places in the league gives everybody - supporters, staff, players - a wee lift psychologically. Let's not get carried away, though."