Robbie Neilson has responded to his Hearts critics after Tynecastle was graffitied with a message calling for him to leave the club this week.
The Jambos slumped to a fourth defeat in a row as they lost 2-1 to 10-man Killie last weekend, which allowed Aberdeen to close to within a point in the race for third place in the Premiership.
The Hearts support vented their fury at Rugby Park and there have been widespread calls on social media for the manager to be removed, while on Sunday afternoon pictures emerged of spray paint on the Hearts badge on the Foundation of Hearts Plaza outside Tynecastle reading “f*** off Neilson”.
Responding to the remarks from supporters, Neilson said: "It's disappointing that obviously you have graffiti there and it's, you know, it's outside the football club, but ultimately it's football nowadays.
“You know, you have to take that on the chin. If you're a big football club and you lose a couple of games on the bounce, then you know people voice their opinion and you just have to accept that.
“You have to move on and hope it doesn't happen again. The only way we can rectify it is by winning on Saturday. But I think every manager that has had the longevity that I've had, I've had 3-400 games now.
“You know you're going to have ups and you're going to have downs. You know, the biggest thing in football nowadays is the resilience to continue to go there. Whether that is a player or a coach or manager, you've got to keep pushing forward.
“You’ve got to look to the next game. You've got to prepare properly. Hearts for me should be a team that competes at the top end of the league. We are competing at the top in the league.
“Yes, we'll have these dips, but it's important that we come through them like we have in the past. But I still think we'll finish third and that's where we want to finish.
“We're in third at the moment. We've got an opportunity on Saturday to hopefully extend that lead and then more opportunities for the season to try and confirm it.”
