Hearts: Questions facing Neil Critchley following collapse at Ross County

There is no question now that Hearts are in a relegation battle. There is a long way to go but they are only three points above bottom side St Johnstone and 10 behind the top six.

Even Hibs, who had toiled similarly just weeks ago, are now seven points above them having won four on the spin.

The Easter Road side were known for conceding late goals but it seems that bug has now spread across the city as Hearts have now conceded nine goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half.

The frailty at the end was reminiscent of the Conference League game against Moldovan side Petrocub. Hearts battled back to go 2-1 ahead, before conceding an equaliser that eliminated them from the competition.

Leads are there to be protected seemingly, not built upon. In both games, in the final few minutes with a lead intact, they have sat back and invited pressure upon themselves.

“We’re in a period where moments are going us,” Critchley told BBC Scotland.

“That’s on us as a group, to do better than that. It’s difficult to win games of football. You have to go from the first minute to the last and do the basics well enough and we haven’t done that until the end.”

The problem for the head coach is, they often haven’t done the basics well for most of the 90 minutes, not just the two minutes at the end.