League Cup success and Hearts go together about as well as drinking a glass of orange juice straight after brushing your teeth.
Last Saturday evening it was Jambos who were left with a bitter aftertaste after our surprising elimination at lower-lying Falkirk.
If you were to believe the messages from some of my fellow supporters on social media, you would think our prospects this season have taken a serious hit after a second successive defeat in all competitions.
Of course we have to ask ourselves why we didn’t make it into the draw for the quarter-finals of the cup, but I wonder why many fans blame the defeat solely on Steven Naismith.
It is alleged that he made far too many changes (eight in total) after the defeat at Dundee and that he put players in the wrong positions, hampering their abilities.
The biggest talking point was the fact that Lawrence Shankland was on the bench ahead of Thursday’s Europa League qualifier.
But even without Shankland, Hearts should have been at least a couple of goals ahead in the opening 15 minutes.
I’ve had discussions with a few people who say Shankland would have taken at least one of those chances and there’s a good chance he did. However, I think that’s an indictment of the rest of our team.
Despite the mudslinging by prominent Jambos working in the media towards Naismith, I think the finger should be pointed at the players.
The second half, where we were one goal down, was mediocre and substitutions were made, but in the end we were not good enough.
For me there are players who either lack confidence or are overconfident in their own abilities after a promising performance in the first game against Rangers.
There is no better chance to bounce back with a European match away at Viktoria Plzen to rally the support. It is a tough tie given their recent record in continental competition.
But the fact that we play the return leg at home to Tynecastle next week could be decisive, and there is no doubt that we will use Rosenborg’s experience from last season.
