Heart of Midlothian

Hearts suffered their sixth defeat in a row as Dundee United maintained their strong Scottish Premiership return to move up to third going into the international break.

Both sides missed chances at Tynecastle, breaking forward freely but looking blunt in the final third, before Ross Graham's trundling effort in the 77th minute caught out the unsighted Craig Gordon.

What did you make of that, Hearts fans? What is the answer to turning around this horrendous run of form?

Let us know your thoughts here, external.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

The opening 15 minutes looked a lot better than the performance against Viktoria Pilzen. That good feeling evaporated quite quickly as United turned the heat up.

Another four changes, albeit Lawrence Shankland coming in, welcomed another change of shape. There were more bodies in midfield and Jorge Grant looked decent in spells, but for all the possession there was almost no penetration. Kenneth Vargas and Yutaro Oda struggled to get behind their men.

Fourteen shots on target produced an xG of 0.65, meaning most were potshots or blocked at close range. Shankland had scored five goals by this stage last year. This year, none.

Defensively, the zonal marking at set pieces has produced umpteen chances for the opposition in recent weeks and does not appear to be working. There is a palpable worry that shoots around the supporters whenever Hearts have to defend their box.

There are plenty of problems Naismith has to find the answer to. He has an international break to solve those conundrums, but has to visit Celtic Park to display his findings.

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Hearts: Gordon, Kingsley, Halkett, Kent, Penrice, Oda, Spittal, Boateng, Grant, Oda, Shankland, Vargas.

Substitutes: Clark, Oyegoke, McKay, Devlin, Rowles, Forrest, Dhanda, Pollock, Salazar.

Dundee United: Walton, Adegboyega, Gallagher, Graham, Stephenson, Babunski, Holt, Sibbald, Ferry, Trapanovski, Van der Sande.

Substitutes: Richards, Sevelj, Moult, Odada, Middleton, Dalby, Docherty, Thomson, Ubochioma.

Image source, Getty Images

In case you missed it, here are Hearts' fixtures for the league phase of the Conference League:

3 October: Dinamo Minsk (A)

24 October: Omonoia (H)

7 November: Heidenheim (H)

28 November: Cercle Brugge (A)

12 December: FC Copenhagen (A)

19 December: FC Petrocub (H)

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Hearts hope to have Lawrence Shankland back after a knee injury while Andres Salazar is available after not being registered for the Europa League. Liam Boyce will be assessed after going off injured against Plzen while Calem Nieuwenhof (hamstring) and Beni Baningime (knee) are still out.

Dundee United expect to have everyone available apart from Ryan Strain (hamstring).

Jane Lewis, Brian McLauchlin and Tyrone Smith round up all the deadline defying drama as the Scottish transfer window shuts.

From Celtic's record breaking signing to some high profile departures they discuss all the biggest moves in Scotland and cross to Italy to hear about the excitement as Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay move to Napoli.

Listen to the full episode here.

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Cammy Devlin insists Hearts will be doing "everything in their power" to pick up their first win of the season before the upcoming international break by defeating Dundee United on Sunday.

The Gorgie club had been knocked out the League Cup by second-tier Falkirk before dropping to the Conference League after losing their Europa League play-off against Viktoria Plzen on Thursday.

A lack of league wins leaves Hearts tenth in the Premiership - being propped up only by city rivals Hibernian and bottom club Kilmarnock.

"I've missed that winning feeling, there's nothing like it," Devlin said. “Winning a game of football is the best feeling in the world.

"It doesn't matter how we win, it would be really good for us as players, for the coaching staff, for the club, to just get that winning feeling back, for the fans to go back to the pubs after a game with a win and heading into the international break."

The restless Tynecastle faithful has not witnessed a victory on home turf since 11 May, when Hearts ran out 3-0 winners over Dundee.

"I think whether you've won five in a row or you've lost five in a row, it's important to go into the break with a win," the midfielder added.

"We'll be doing everything in our power to make that happen. Fingers crossed we can."

We asked for your views on Hearts' Conference League draw.

Here's what some of you said:

Calum: Home games should be good, minimum of two wins but the away games could be tough, hoping for eight or nine points, which should be enough to get us a play-off game.

David: Some winnable games there but not if we play the way we did against Viktoria Plzen.

Deek: Three great chances at home but we need to start putting it together.

Robert: Win two at home, draw with the Germans and get one point in the away games - eight points.

Jamie: We are more than capable of winning each of those games, however after seeing us so far this season I'll be happy if we can just score a goal at this point.

Anon: Apart from Copenhagen and Bruges, the others are pretty unknown. Mind you, Hearts could lose to anyone right now.

Jim: At present unless a massive dose of self-belief is injected into this side I don't think there are any easy games, here or abroad.

Colin: We'll do well to get four points out of that set of fixtures with the way we are playing just now but it's all about money for the club. A couple of good trips for the loyal fans.

William: The way things are going just now for us I can't see us getting a point.

OK, Celtic v Rangers is the biggest top-flight match of the weekend but it will get plenty of attention.

What's interesting about Hearts' home meeting with Dundee United is that promoted United go into Sunday's game unbeaten in the Premiership while last season's third-placed team, Hearts, are winless this season.

Head coach Steven Naismith has not yet settled on a first choice XI, due in part to Hearts juggling European fixtures along with league and League Cup games.

The Tynecastle side desperately need to get captain and talisman Lawrence Shankland firing again and playing against his former club might just be the ticket, though he did miss the midweek loss to Viktoria Plzen.

For United, a morale-boosting win against St Johnstone last weekend followed draws with Dundee and Ross County.

They are also through to the last eight of the League Cup and manager Jim Goodwin is seeing his newly-built squad spread the goals around.

Read all the weekend Premiership picks

We asked for your views on where Hearts still need to strengthen and what deals you would like completed before the transfer window closes.

Here's what some of you said:

Jim: I'm not actually sure where to start, our midfield is at times soft or non-existent, no player dominates play in the middle, too many second touches, goals are also a problem now, we don't frighten any team now.

Alan: Hearts are in desperate need of a second striker as back up for Lawrence Shankland.

Steve: We need to sign a new manager as a priority! We need a creative midfielder and a mobile striker, we should have gone for Kevin Nisbet. A speedy winger would be the icing on the cake, as too many mediocre players are currently in the squad.

Richard: Let's be realistic, we can't afford to bring in players every time we have a dip in form, we're not a big money buying club and the level we acquire players at means they're not sure-fire successes and there's doubts they'll do any better than the players we've already bought. Rather than bloat the squad further we need to use what we have better.

Keiren: We need another striker, Shankland's great but he won't be playing the full 90 minutes every game and every other option we have bar Liam Boyce, we seem to prefer playing down the wing.

Kenneth: Urgently require another proven striker and possibly another winger, there's too much reliance on Shankland, if he is off the pace we won't score goals.

Ian: I would love to bring back Josh Ginnelly and play him out wide, this would give us more pace in the team and he could also play through the middle when needed to contribute with goals.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

On paper, Hearts' draw looks a lot easier than the last time they were in the Conference League.

Two seasons ago, in the old group-stage format, the Jambos faced future finalists Fiorentina, a very strong Istanbul Basaksehir, and Latvian side FK RFS. Beaten comfortably both home and away by the Italian and Turkish sides, they at least got two victories against the Latvians.

However, with six different opponents this time round, there is potentially more opportunity for success.

Copenhagen away looks the hardest game. That said, Kilmarnock were very unlucky to lose 2-0 in Denmark last week and pushed their Danish opponents all the way at Rugby Park in a 1-1 draw on Thursday night.

Heidenheim at home is more of an unknown. Up until 2007, they were playing in the sixth tier of German football, where they have spent most of their history.

They won promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in 2023 and finished their maiden campaign in eighth - enough for a European spot.

Omonoia finished fifth before the split in the Cypriot league last season, before rising to third by the end of play. They count former Rangers defender Filip Helander among their squad.

Cercle Bruges are another of Kilmarnock's qualifying opponents who struggled to shake off Derek McInnes' men. A 1-1 draw in Ayrshire and then a 1-0 win in Belgium was enough to win, but the goal in that home leg was a gift from Killie. Hearts won't feel too intimidated.

Speaking of unknowns, let me introduce Petrocub Hincesti. They won the Moldovan Super Liga last season, finishing above Sheriff Tiraspol - the team that beat Real Madrid at the Bernabau in 2021 - and made it a double with the Moldovan Cup.

There's also an away trip to Dinamo Minsk. After beating Lincoln Red Imps over two legs (they lost the away leg 2-1), the Belarusian champions lost to Anderlecht in Europa League qualifying so dropped down.

Their home leg against Anderlecht was not played in Minsk, taking place over 1,000km away in Mezokovesd, Hungary.

Well then, Hearts fans. What did you make of the draw?

Away trips to Copenhagen, Cercle Bruges and Dinamo Minsk. Home ties against FC Heidenheim, Omonoia Nicosia and Moldovan side Petrocub.

Which of those are winnable? Where will you be travelling to?

Let us know your thoughts here, external.

Image source, SNS

Goalkeeper Craig Gordon says "the better team has gone through" after Hearts were knocked out of the Europa League.

Hearts lost 1-0 to Czech side Viktoria Plzen at Tynecastle to exit 2-0 on aggregate.

Steven Naismith's men will discover their Conference League opponent's in Friday's draw (13:30 BST).

"I don't think we're far away," Gordon said.

"I think there was an opportunity to go and win the tie over the two legs but having said that I think the better team has gone through.

"We weren't good enough. We just didn't create enough, we didn't look like scoring, the better chances in the game were probably theirs.

"It's crazy stuff, I don't really know why it's happened so many times in such a short space of time but we're a good enough team to bounce back from that."

We asked for your views on Hearts' Europa League play-off defeat by Viktoria Plzen.

Here’s what some of you said:

Callum: Hearts were lacking any kind of creativity or aggression. I felt we were playing too long and sitting off Plzen far too much when they themselves looked pretty poor. Lawrence Shankland was a big miss but even with him playing, I'm struggling to see where goals are going to come from. It's frightening to see how much we have regressed since last season.

Charlie: We are carrying a surplus of players who would find it hard to hold down a place in the Scottish Championship. What message does that send out to the B team players?

Ted: Another woeful performance from Hearts. Steven Naismith must take the blame for the way they are playing - he is the manager, the defending is shocking - always doubling back and no shots on goal. How many players will he change for Sunday?

Finn: Lacking the finishing touch in the final third, all well and good getting up the park but nobody there to finish it. Liam Boyce is well past his good days so why is he starting in a must win European game? Plzen team was very beatable, absolutely unacceptable performance.

Chris: Boring, insipid, lifeless football from Hearts. We didn't look like we had any game-plan whatsoever. The players are devoid of any confidence and I can't help but feel a more experienced manager gets much more out of this team.

Keith: Another shambolic performance, players played out of position and players playing that are past their best, if we don't win on Sunday I think Naismith's time will be up.

Derr: Hearts have the players. The problem is the manager. Third biggest club in Scotland and they have given a complete novice the reins to manage this institution, the cheap option. Boyce should've been hooked after 20 minutes, his touch was awful, he was towing a caravan. Naismith comes over as a moaning, grumpy individual who blames everyone except himself for Hearts' plight.

David: I am still not convinced that Naismith is a manager to take Hearts to the next level, we finished third last season but at no point was I ever confident we would. Apart from the game against Rangers, Hearts have been second best and the manager seems unable to see that. Our most exciting players are languishing on the bench unable to make an impact.

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Hearts' Europa League bid ended with something of a whimper as their home loss to Viktoria Plzen completed a 2-0 aggregate and sent Steven Naismith's men into the Conference League.

It also extended Hearts' miserable winless start to the season, with their record now standing at five straight defeats since the opening-day draw with Rangers.

The limp home performance against a beatable Plzen side was no surprise to former Scotland goalkeeper Gemma Fay.

Speaking to the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast, Fay said: "Unfortunately for Hearts fans I think it's a predictable performance based on what we've seen so far.

"Hearts look to have a good squad. They're just lacking identity.

"It's a hugely disappointing result based on the fact that I think it was a winnable game, a winnable tie, they had a real opportunity there.

"They had an opportunity to really gauge that fanbase at Tynecastle, get that 12th man on the park and they were just left wanting."

The latest defeat turns up the heat on head coach Steven Naismith, who led the club to a third-place league finish last season.

"I think the pressure on Naismith is the pressure to show us some consistency," Fay added.

"Show us what your identity is with this team. You've brought in some players, show us how they fit into your identity and the brand of football you want Hearts to play.

"How do you kick on from last year? Because every season it's about what do you do differently and what do you do better."

Steven Naismith understood the angry reaction of supporters following his Hearts side's Europa League exit at the hands of Viktoria Plzen. (Record), external

Naismith laments a lack of quality from Hearts against the Czech side. (Scotsman - subscription), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

Hearts will have to settle for Conference League football this season after defeat by Viktoria Plzen ended their hopes of playing in the Europa League.

Already trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Hearts needed to come out firing but initially played to form this season having lost their last four matches.

In fact, just as they were starting to motor in the second half after positive changes, Plzen struck the crucial blow.

Lukas Cerv calmly stroked in from the edge of the box to quell the rising noise at Tynecastle and deflate the Hearts players.

However, they have the significant consolation of a Conference League berth and will find out their opponents in Friday's draw at 13:30 BST.

Were you at Tynecastle or following the match from home? Either way, we want your views on the game - have your say here, external.

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Hearts head coach Steven Naismith: "We lacked quality in the final third, we did well to get the crowd going at the start but never had any real quality.

"Things fizzled out far too often. The game got away from us with another cheap goal, that's the story of the season so far.

"The way Plzen managed the game, defended their box and created chances showed why they are consistently in Europe.

"We were more in hope than expectation. We're not getting the quality we want. It's definitely not clicking at the moment."

Naismith adds that he is hoping Lawrence Shankland is fit to return at the weekend.

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Thomas Duncan, BBC Sport Scotland

There was a lot of talk about how Hearts had to harness the atmosphere at a packed Tynecastle to frighten Plzen and turn this tie around.

It happened a year ago against Rosenborg.

You felt the old stadium was on edge again, waiting to get involved, but the team on the pitch barely gave them anything to empty their lungs for.

The same issues which have dogged their start to the season were evident again. A lack of tempo, pace, and width.

For the second game in a row, the introduction of Yutaro Oda on the right-hand side immediately improved things as his speed injected some life into their performance.

At that point the atmosphere did start to grow and Hearts looked the more likely to score, albeit without peppering the Plzen goal. But one breakaway cost them.

Last season's comfortable third-place Premiership finish was based on good defending and Lawrence Shankland firing in 31 goals, some of which he had no right to score.

In this campaign there has already been heavy rotation, multiple changes in formation, and it feels like Hearts are struggling for an identity.

That's now five defeats in a row and just two goals scored this season.

With a heavy schedule to come between now and Christmas, manager Steven Naismith needs to find solutions quickly.