Interim Hearts manager Steven Naismith was disappointed with his side's showing in their 1-0 loss in the Edinburgh derby to Hibernian at Easter Road last weekend and revealed the influence of Roberto Martinez and David Moyes on his early days in the job.
The former forward was given the position in the wake of Robbie Neilson's dismissal in Gorgie last week, but suffered a defeat in in first game in charge against Hibs days later. It was a sixth loss on the spin in all competitions for the Jambos, who have relinquished third spot to Aberdeen in the Premiership, and now trail Barry Robson's men by five points with six games left in the season.
Naismith has admitted he was left frustrated by his team's performance against the Hibees, and detailed where he felt they had gone wrong.
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Speaking to Edinburgh Evening News, he said: "We never really laid a glove on Hibs going forward. I said that after the game and in our meeting on Monday morning. That's the most frustrating thing for me,” said the former striker. “Hibs were much more direct, played percentage football, and that's where they got most of their chances from.
"For us, there was still those same things players were doing. It's small things. It's a backward pass, it's taking an extra touch when you don't need to. That brings on a bit of pressure, which then forces you into making a negative-type pass rather than a positive-type pass.
"That still happened at the weekend. We got ourselves into some good situations and didn't pull the trigger on those passes we should make. If we make those passes, that transition turns into so much more than what I felt we did on Saturday. We didn't really have those moments where we had them [Hibs] under real pressure. We did to a point, but not enough for what I'd like."
Hearts have a chance to return to winning ways when Ross County are the visitors at Tynecastle on Saturday, and Naismith says he will call on the experience he had of working under some top level managers to kick the Jambos back into gear.
He added: "That [confidence] is maybe a part of that but it's also a part of what has been asked of them before. I know from being a player. I went from having Davie Moyes as a manager to having Roberto Martinez as a manager in the space of one summer [at Everton]. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
"Davie Moyes was about getting back into shape and not giving up cheap possession. So, as a player, I played loads of safe passes. Martinez comes in and says: 'I don't want you to run about as much. I want you standing in these positions so that, when we get you the ball, we can attack.’ I understand the process of that.
“When you're in a game and players have that adrenaline and focus, a lot of things are done on autopilot", Naismith explained. "On Saturday, we made the choices that we have been making that I think have been negative in the performances. Really, if we make one pass, it changes the whole feeling and the whole attack.
"We don't have to beat people all over again. We maybe make two passes that get us into a position where we have an attack building, but then we turn it down."
"That becomes a problem because it's a backwards pass. The player making it doesn't think he's making a negative pass. He thinks: 'I'm keeping the ball.' But everybody watching from the sides understands: 'No, you're letting them drive up the pitch 10 or 20 yards.' That's where we are at the moment and we need to try and change."
Naismith faces a Ross County side that remain second bottom of the table, but the 36-year old says they need to treat every opponent with the upmost respect.
He said: "With it being a home game, you definitely need to be aggressive with the ball and how we play the game. I wouldn't underestimate Ross County because they are doing alright defensively. I'd imagine it will be a very direct game but, again, we need to deal with that.
"We can't just say: 'Ach, it's rubbish that teams are doing that.' It's the game of football, everybody is different. We need to deal with that firstly and then, when we have the ball, think about what we will do to hurt them.
"We want to play with that freedom, play those passes I'm talking about that create an attack – rather than taking four touches and playing sideways, then taking another four touches and going backwards. That just irritates the crowd and the coaches on the sidelines. Let's put them under pressure and see how it plays out."
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