Steven Naismith warned his floundering Hearts side must cut out the slackness at both ends of the pitch that has left them without a win in five competitive games this season.
The Jambos crashed to a fourth consecutive defeat as they lost 3-1 away to Motherwell in the William Hill Premiership on Sunday.
They have scored just two goals all season and were booed off by their increasingly exasperated supporters after their meek display at Fir Park.
“It’s frustrating,” said Naismith. “At the moment, in both boxes we’re second best. Every goal we’ve conceded this season has been really, really poor.
“In the final third, our final pass and decision-making was poor and when we got shots we didn’t make the most of them. In both boxes, we’re not at the level we need to be at.”
Motherwell went two ahead through headers from Paul McGinn and Stephen O’Donnell before Yutaro Oda pulled one back. Tom Sparrow sealed the win following a lapse from Hearts debutant Andres Salazar.
Asked about the concession of the first two goals from set-pieces, Naismith said: “It’s poor. There’s nothing else to be said. Even the third goal is poor.
“Every goal we have conceded we’ve given a helping hand to the opposition.
“There’s not one goal I’ve looked and thought ‘wow, that’s great play’. Our decision-making, quality of defending and timing of when we drop has been really poor and it’s costing us big time at the moment.
“We need to fix it. It can’t go on the way it is. On the other side we need to be better at making chances. The quality of our final ball is lacking massively.”
Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell was delighted with his team’s performance as they notched their first league win of the season.
“The result is the most important thing but it came with a real strong performance,” he said. “That’s what we need to look like as a Motherwell team.
“The set-plays were important for us but I thought in general our play was pretty good and I still think it can be better.
“I am always going to want more and the reason I say that is I think we will have that in our group through time, with players coming back from injury and the potential to potentially freshen one or two things up this week as we draw a close to the transfer window.
“The players need to come away with a lot of confidence off the back of today.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Mbappe VS Liverpool Path confirmed… Kylian Mbappe after Virgil van Dijk took him down. 0.6% chance. 99.4% faith. lol I can't unsee this … League titles won "since 2009" Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Justtoonit, FootballLaughss, PL__OOC)...
The Egyptian is locked in contract negotiations with the club, who do not want to commit to a multi-year, high wage deal.Salah is in the form of his life, but is 32, which is giving the Reds pause for giving him a two or three-year extension.Per Sky Sports, clubs in the Saudi Pro League are not actively pursuing Salah at present.While he is a target and one they would love to sign, they are not go...
The Blues have made an effort to sign the best and youngest talent from around the world since the takeover by Clearlake.Chelsea are in talks to sign the son of Emmanuel EboueChelsea will have to pay compensation for Mathis EboueThe club are now in talks to sign Mathis Eboue from the Watford academy.The 15-year-old is, of course, the son of Arsenal cult hero Emmanuel Eboue.The Daily Mail have clai...
Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez signed a one-year contract extension, meaning he will continue to play in Major League Soccer next season.Suarez, who joined the Herons on a one-year contract in December, tied for second place in the MLS Golden Boot race and earned a nomination to the 2024 MLS newcomer of the year award."I'm very happy, very excited to continue for another year and to be able to en...
United target Napoli's KvaratskheliaManchester United are reportedly showing strong interest in Napoli forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, according to SportMediaset. The 23-year-old Georgian star, under contract with Napoli until 2027, has yet to reach an agreement on an extension with the Serie A leaders. The Red Devils are prepared to table a lucrative five-year deal worth at least €8 million ...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Big GabrielSporting 1-5 Arsenal Who will win this month's Manager of the Month award? What happens when you come up against Saliba and Gabriel... Wayne Rooney, a true legend on and off the pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo in the iconic white and gold jersey brings back so many unforgettable memories! Throwback to THIS Beautiful Moment when Lionel Messi scored his 50th ca...
Bellingham admits 'vibrations' were key to Liverpool snubJude Bellingham has revealed how close he came to joining Liverpool, and the "vibrations" he felt when Real Madrid came calling."It wasn't as close as it was said," Bellingham said ahead of Real's Champions League clash with Liverpool. "There were conversations. There was Dortmund and I did it with several clubs. When Real Madrid call you, t...
Manchester City's Champions League match on Tuesday night was marred by crowd trouble, with Feyenoord fans causing chaos at the Etihad Stadium. The Dutch supporters, escorted by police from the city centre to the stadium, filled all three tiers of the South Stand.After City scored three goals, Feyenoord managed to net one with about 15 minutes left, leading to riot police stepping in to prevent cl...
Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists Mohamed Salah isn't unsettled over his contract situation.After scoring twice in victory at Southampton on Sunday, Salah revealed he had not heard from management about a new deal. His current contract expires in June."The only thing I can say is, if I look at my line-ups, Mo is more in than out," said Slot."I don't think he's distracted at all. I haven't seen that...
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said he doesn't fully understand how the new Champions League format worked after his team earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday to improve their chances of reaching the knockout stage.Bayern needed a first-half goal from defender Kim Min-Jae to battle past 10-man PSG and claim a third win in five matches."I don't look at the table...
- 1 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 2 Chelsea make Nkunku sale call amid ManUtd interest
- 3 Ex-Prem ace asked Liverpool star for his sister's phone number
- 4 €60-70m could bring star to Liverpool or Man Utd
- 5 Mascherano nears Miami; Martino exits
- 6 Chloe Kelly sends fans wild in daring outfit at GQ Men of the Year
- 7 Former Premier League star saved his wife and baby from house fire
- 8 Thierry Henry poses with rarely-seen partner Andrea on red carpet
- 9 Ruben Amorim ‘could move to Ten Hag or Pogba’s old homes’
- 10 Transfer news & rumours LIVE