Time to walk the walk at Tynecastle as Hearts acknowledge fans don't want to hear all the bull

Walk into the Oriam sports complex at Riccarton and through to the rear corridors towards Hearts’ facilities. It is quiet, occasionally eerie, compared to the public hustle and bustle back at the main entrance.

It would be understandable were it even quieter than normal this week. Much stock-taking and soul-searching has taken place in recent days, which will likely continue in the build-up to Saturday’s match with St Mirren at Tynecastle Park. Results in the last few weeks have fallen off a metaphorical cliff and supporters are making clear their disgruntlement.

Manager Robbie Neilson is the target for many, although it must also be noted that some people are still behind him. He is sufficiently experienced to handle the flak and broad-shouldered enough to cope. His ability to separate footballing matters from emotions is one of his strengths. Whilst others outside Riccarton shout, bawl, spray-paint and tweet their feelings, Neilson is focused on the job at hand.

He is realistic enough to know fans don’t want to hear empty talk after five defeats in the last six games which threatens their club’s hold on third place in the Premiership. Reactions from the away end at full-time at Kilmarnock on Saturday perfectly illustrated that people are demanding action. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.

For the Hearts management, coaching staff and players, this week’s preparations would seem relatively straightforward despite the turmoil: Pull together, work tirelessly, keep heads down, block out external noise, stay off all social media, and emerge with all guns blazing against St Mirren. In short, adopt a collective siege mentality and crank it up for all it’s worth.

The vitriol which poured from the away stand at Rugby Park will be converted into applause and cheers when Hearts emerge from the Tynecastle tunnel before kick-off on Saturday. Fans will be out in numbers to back their team as usual. How said team starts the game will then determine whether that atmosphere is harnessed or hindered. Most games at the famous Gorgie ground tend to follow that pattern one way or the other.

Hearts are acutely aware that talk of re-energising and regrouping took place after similarly insipid losses at Aberdeen and Motherwell prior to Kilmarnock. Verbal repetition without visual change merely increases fans’ frustrations, so those involved need to back up their words.

“In football, you can sit and talk the talk, saying: 'We are going to do this and that and this.' Ultimately, you have to walk the walk,” said Neilson. “We can talk about what we are going to do all through the week but it's about making sure we are ready for the weekend – then walk the walk.

Hearts host St Mirren at Tynecastle on Saturday in a hugely important fixture.

“Fans don't want to hear all the baloney, all the bull, this and that. Turn up on Saturday and win the game. That's all you can do. The boys were in training on Sunday to start preparing for it. Everyone needs to look individually and say: 'Am I doing enough?' That's today, tomorrow, the next day and the next day. When it comes to Saturday, there will be an unbelievable support again.

“The fans at Rugby Park were outstanding. We took 2,500 and they have a massive right to be frustrated because it wasn't good enough. I know they will have our backs next week. This club has been built coming through adversity – demotions, relegations, administrations. Everyone fights and that's what you have to do. We are going through a difficult period but we all stick together, we fight and we come through it.”

There is no complaint over how supporters have responded to this current run of form. Nor should there be. When fans are continuing to contribute £1.7m per year to a fan-owned football club during a cost-of-living crisis, they are going to make their points and opinions heard. The Hearts camp has to take criticism on the chin and, to their credit, did just that at Rugby Park.

“Rightly so. We should be going to Kilmarnock and winning games and we have to try to get that third position. The last four games have not been good enough,” admitted Neilson. “I can say that we will do this in training, or talk about this, analyse that. It means nothing. It's about turning up on Saturday, righting the wrong and getting ourselves back going again.”

They might need to do so with a different goalkeeper. The hamstring injury sustained by Zander Clark at the weekend is still being assessed but Ross Stewart is primed to step in against St Mirren. Craig Gordon’s double leg-break and now Clark’s problem will potentially leave Hearts striving to secure European football with their third-choice keeper.

Stewart could never have expected such a scenario to evolve when Clark arrived at Tynecastle last September as back-up to Gordon. “Potentially not but that's football. Ross has trained really well and he's a good keeper. He just needs to make sure he is ready and he will be,” said Neilson.

Stewart has started only one competitive game this season – last August at Celtic Park – but spoke to the Evening News this week to declare himself ready for the task ahead. He is out of contract this summer and knows this is an unexpected opportunity to showcase himself to potential new employers.

“Ross, when he's come in, has done great for us. That's the reason we have three keepers,” said Neilson. “We've lost Craig and now Zander, potentially, so it's up to Ross to step up to the plate and take that opportunity. Zander got a tweak at the top end of the hamstring so we need to look at it and see where it is.”