'The league is where Hearts will be judged'

The defeats to Rangers at Ibrox and Heidenheim at Tynecastle have stalled Hearts' return to form under Neil Critchley.

The home loss to the Bundesliga side is unlikely to deny Hearts progress in the Conference League, with three games still left to play before the knockout stages begin.

And although Sunday's narrow league loss to Rangers was hard to take there has been some positivity on the pitch in those two matches.

The team had equal share of possession at Ibrox and with a little more composure in front of goal could have been heading back along the M8 with much more than an empty pocket.

Similarly, against Heidenheim, Hearts had no fewer than 17 attempts on goal. Lawrence Shankland from last season would have had a field day.

Between now and the new year there are seven Premiership matches to negotiate, with five of those taking place at Tynecastle.

In addition they have Conference League trips to Cercle Brugge and FC Copenhagen followed by the visit of Moldovan side Petrocub to Tynecastle.

But it's the league position - currently second bottom - that is the most important factor of Hearts' season.

This is where the club's success or failure will be judged and simply has to improve as a bottom-six end to the season is nowhere close to where the club's expectations lie.