Honest talks inside the Hearts dressing room as the 'soft squad' accusation is addressed

Management and players had frank conversations after the Edinburgh derby

Hearts coaches and players held honest conversations in the dressing room following Saturday's 2-2 draw with Hibs to identify reasons for squandering a two-goal lead. Alan Forrest and Alex Lowry scored to put the hosts in a commanding position, but Elie Youan struck twice inside 90 seconds in the second half to earn Hibs a point.

Bad decision-making and poor defending were pinpointed as central to the collapse, however Hearts are also able to derive positives from the match. Their dominance could have seen them build an even more commanding lead before briefly losing their way. Hibs capitalised in ruthless fashion, leading to a frank exchange in the home camp at full-time.

"You need to be honest," Hearts head coach Steven Naismith told the Evening News. "Straight after the game, we said: 'It is literally bad decision-making and poor defending that's cost us.' We weren't ripped open or hanging on for dear life because of some great play. We conceded two goals from our poor play. For me, that's it in a nutshell.

"There were loads of positives in the game: The type of chances we are creating, we carried a threat all day and the way we got our chances was really good. We were brave to play good possession and when that moment came to break their press, we did it. We are always honest. You can't hide away from being honest in situations when it's not right, just as you are honest when things are good."

Three wins and a draw from their last five games indicates gradual progress for the Tynecastle outfit. Naismith has heard his team accused of lacking resilience and strength of character this season, but he feels those issues are being addressed.

"The results have shown that our performances have been better over the last couple of weeks," he stated. "Things that have been levelled at the squad in the past - about being soft and not managing to stay in games - we have proved them wrong with the Kilmarnock result and Ross County result. On Saturday, we were the better team. I don't think anybody could watch that game and say we weren't the better team, so there is definitely progress."

The international break gives Naismith, his coaching staff and players time to overcome lingering disappointment from the weekend. Hearts are fourth in the Premiership table and four points behind third-placed St Mirren. The Edinburgh club play Celtic, Rangers and Livingston in their next three league matches before a Viaplay Cup semi-final with the Ibrox side at Hampden Park.

"We are definitely all disappointed because of what we had in our hands at one point on Saturday. The way we threw it away is disappointing but over time we can look at the positives," stressed Naismith. "The way we passed the ball, dominating possession in the first half, plus the quality of our chances. That calmness at the end is why we didn't take some of them. We can reflect on the positives later on but at the moment you have to suffer this disappointment."