As hard as you have to work for success in football - things can turn the opposite way so quickly.
That's why Hearts need to hit the reset rather than the panic button. Now is the time for every player to fight for their team-mate, this is what it's all about. We'll see just how good certain players are and how big a club they are playing for.
If Robbie Neilson 's side want to be the third best side in the country year on year and play in Europe year on year then these are the demands which need to be met. It's all started to unravel since losing back to back to FC Zurich, one win from five games and it's alarming. It happens down south as well, I remember Leicester City had a really strong season and the following campaign they went into Europe and had a real struggle in the league.
There are factors, the schedule changes and there is the mental side of things, some teams can be absolutely wiped out by it. I'll be honest, I didn't think it would happen to Hearts but it has.
That appears to be the case right now and it's worrying because there are massive games in front of them in Europe with the Europa Conference League group fixtures. Istanbul Basaksehir are first up on Thursday night so there's little time for Hearts to get their act together.
Hearts had a shocker in their defeat at Livingston at the weekend but it's difficult to be too critical as it has happened to other teams before. Are the players dead on their feet? What they've already experienced so far in Europa has been difficult to take in on an emotional level. At the same time, you can't really start making up excuses as the bottom line is that this is their job.
Hearts are a club which should be at the top end of the league and they should be in Europe and fighting for trophies. As it stands right now, Hearts are already out of one cup competition, have been beaten twice in Europe and lost back to to back against Kilmarnock and Livingston. All of that doesn't make for good reading at the moment.
When you take a close look at where the problems lie then John Souttar moving on to Rangers has had a clear impact. That was a massive loss but even bigger than that has been the injury to Craig Halkett.
I've banged the drum before about just how important a figure he is for the team. When Craig's in the side, everything just looks more stable and operates as a unit far better. When he isn't there then there's a massive gap and you can see that from the recent results when he's been sidelined.
Then you take Liam Boyce's injury and that's a massive loss, you take last season's top scorer at the club out of the team and it's obvious it's going to be an issue. Stephen Humphrys has arrived on loan to cover for Boyce but he needs to hit the ground running as there isn't any time to waste.
The games will now come thick and fast and hopefully this is a blip. Every team needs a bit of luck if they're going to come out of these group stage games positively and they need a run where they don't pick up injuries to key players. It's been nothing but bad luck on that front. When any side is trying to plug holes with left and right full-backs being moved into central defensive positions then there's going to be issues and that's what we are now seeing.
Overall, Hearts have been amazing in the last 12 months, this is a six game run with just one win and this is where everyone at the club has to step up and earn their wages and turn things around. All of these group stage games have to be navigated and the league will also present huge challenges.
The Premier Sports Cup exit was also hugely disappointing as realistically Hearts had to try and win a cup this season and that's one down already. Losing to Kilmarnock at home was a sore one and losing at Livingston, which is always a difficult venue was another blow.
Take nothing away from David Martindale's team but Hearts would have gone there fully expecting to win that game. I expected there to be a reaction, we didn't see one. We need to see one against Istanbul on Thursday.
If they can deliver a positive result than it can be the start of something and with Hearts facing St Mirren at home in the league on Sunday then they can begin building a bit of much needed momentum.
There is so much to look forward to this season as a Jambo, the fans will again pack Tynecastle on Thursday and back the side all the way. They will do the same against Fiorentina and Riga FS.
Neilson has been terrific for the club and now he needs everyone to pull their weight and show just how big a club Hearts actually are. These are the moments to prove yourself and I don't doubt for one minute that the squad in place is more than capable of pushing on and making sure recent weeks have only been a blip in a campaign which offers so much to be positive about.
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