Stephen Kingsley says Hearts need to get back to doing the basics well as they look to bounce back from a patchy run of form.
The Jambos lost out at Livingston as they suffered defeat in their fifth match in the last six outings. It's been a stop-start season for key man Kingsley due to injuries but the big bonus for Robbie Neilson and his troops was that he played the full 90 minutes at the Tony Macaroni Area.
As a defender, the 28-year-old says keeping clean sheets is the 'bread and butter' and the Jambos must get back to being defensively strong and sound. Last season's success in finishing third behind Celtic and Rangers and reaching the Scottish Cup Final to qualify for European group stage football was achieved by doing the simple things correctly - something he says the Gorgie club must get back to doing quickly.
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He told Edinburgh Evening News: “For me, as a defender, keeping clean sheets is our bread and butter. Defensively, we need to be strong and solid. We have got players going forward that are dangerous, even if we have not shown it recently. We’ll work on that and try to get it right.
“But we know we have the players and defensively it is our job to keep clean sheets. Other than ten minutes against United, Livingston was my first league game, so I was really disappointed not to keep a clean sheet. That is a must going into these games and these places in Europe, so we can let the creative players do the business.
“We need to do the basics well and, personally, I feel that’s something we have not done well enough in the last two games. We got into Europe in the first place by doing the basics well in the league games, so we need to get back to that.”
On the Europa Conference League opener, he added: “It is a massive game. We need to be up for it and at it. Hopefully the Tynecastle crowd will help us along the way. Of course it was raw after losing to Livingston but, regardless of the last two games, it is a massive occasion and one we will look forward to.”
READ MORE:
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- Hearts starlet Lewis Neilson talks comparisons to Rangers John Souttar and his EPL dream
- Three things we learned as Hearts sent for early Premier Sports Cup bath in Gorgie by Kilmarnock
