Hearts’ problems in the Scottish Premiership halted slightly after their 1-1 draw with Ross County at the weekend.
The Tynecastle stalemate was close to becoming another nightmare for the Jambos as Lawrence Shankland’s 96th-minute equaliser ended the Edinburgh side’s eight-game losing streak that stretches back to the Scottish Premiership opening day 0-0 draw with Rangers.
Hearts, remarkably, sit bottom of the Scottish Premiership table at the moment and are managerless after sacking Steven Naismith last week.
But will the draw with Ross County be a turning point in their season? Former Hearts man, Michael Stewart, has delivered his verdict on that.
Hearts ‘a million miles’ from confidence and belief
Stewart told The Scottish Football Social Club, “Has the rot stopped? Well, they’ve stopped the run of defeats that they had with a point in injury time [against Ross County].
“It comes back to what you were talking about with St Johnstone in regards to the need to get somebody in fairly quickly.
“Obviously there’s a European game on Thursday night which is massive for the club and I do think that when you look at that set of fixtures that Hearts have got there are games there that are very winnable for this squad if they’re settled with some confidence and belief.
“But they’re a million miles away from that at the moment. And you just worry that when things carry on for too long it becomes more and more difficult to actually reverse it.
“So stop the rot? Barely is what I would say. And the need for a manager is desperate and the need to adjust the squad slightly in January is there.”
Hearts’ run of October fixtures is crucial
Taking Europe out of the equation for now, Hearts’ next run of fixtures in the Scottish Premiership is absolutely crucial for the Tynecastle club.
A tough away trip to high-flying Jimmy Thelin’s Aberdeen on the 6th of October is then followed up by a home fixture against mid-table St Mirren after the international break.
Hearts then face Hibs at Easter Road and then fellow bottom club Kilmarnock who are hovering just above them in second-last place in the league table.
Coming out of any of these fixtures pointless will put Hearts in real trouble for the rest of the season and they could be facing an unthinkable relegation battle.