Robbie Neilson admitted Hearts were missing a spark last week.
But I’ll tell you what - if Hibs suddenly appearing in the rear-view mirror isn’t enough to hit the ignition then I don’t know is.
Defeat in Paisley this weekend could see the wheels completely come off what was promising to be a brilliant season.
Robbie Neilson should have been stripping the paint off the dressing room walls after that defeat to St Johnstone on Saturday. Hopefully he was.
Put it this way, if Hearts don’t finish third then Robbie will be under pressure. Which is crazy given it’s their first season back in the top flight.
Three weeks ago the Jambos were 12 points clear of Hibs in third.
In the four games since Hibs have picked up just four points - yet they’ve still managed to reduce the gap to nine as Hearts have picked up just a solitary point in the same time.
That spell - with Motherwell and Dundee United also dropping points galore - should have seen the Jambos motoring towards the finish line in the race to be best of the rest.
But successive defeats to bottom sides Dundee and Saints have stalled their momentum and it’s a real concern.
The next few weeks are a massive test of whether this side have the minerals for the fight.
You can talk the talk. But it’s now up to the players to walk the walk ahead of a really difficult trip to face St Mirren.
There seems to be no middle ground at the moment - they are either amazing or they are s***.
It’s a must-win game in Paisley. As I said another defeat and it could turn into a tail spin.
I’ve been in teams who have gone through bad runs, including Hearts, but I was always lucky to have managers and team mates that would pick the dressing room up on a Monday morning after making it clear it wasn’t good enough.
Questions are now rightly being asked. But I’ll give you four reasons why I think they will answer them positively - Craig Gordon, Craig Halkett, Michael Smith and Liam Boyce.
All four are expected to return from injury and Covid issues this weekend and I’d throw them all straight back in.
Both Craigs in particular are hugely important and the worrying thing is that when they’re missing it has shown a real weakness in the team.
You can’t always rely on the same guys to pull you through and the players outwith the spine need to step up and produce more.
Ben Woodburn hasn’t set the heather on fire since arriving from Liverpool on loan. Gary Mackay-Steven hasn’t been great. There’s a massive hole up front if Boycey isn’t firing.
The players on the periphery need to step up and help out.
They need to show that they are good enough to play for Hearts but also that they respect the jersey and if their team mates are maybe struggling then they will pick up the baton.
