What Neil Critchley learned about his Hearts players after defeat

The new head coach watched on as his side lost from a winning position after Alan Forrest gave the team a first-half lead. However, a Kyle Vassell-inspired second half gave Killie the three points.

He discussed the team's defending, how they performed after going 2-1 behind, Lawrence Shankland, and more.

Neil, given the style of that first-half performance, how disappointing is that?

Yeah, very disappointing. I thought we started the game very well. Pushed them right back, and had control of the game. The flow of the game started to change a little bit. We scored a really good goal. Sort of a breakaway situation, but a really good goal to be 1-0 up at half-time. I felt our play deserved that. I thought we started the second half quite well as well. Then just two really, really poor moments of defending has cost us the game. I felt after that as well, there was enough time for us to come back. And I just felt there was a little bit of anxiety in our play and we lost our way a little bit, which was a big learning curve for me tonight.

What was that about the goals, Neil?

Where do you want me to start? The first one's from the goalkeeper. Just kicks the ball long. First ball, second ball, third ball. We don't pick the ball up. Within a few seconds, the ball ends up in the back of our goal. It's far, far too easy. And the second goal, a long throw-in. The finer details, get your positioning right inside the box. We don't stay in front of their first man. He gets first contact, they get second contact, and we get out-muscled in the six-yard box and they score. I mean, it was just too easy. And if you look at the goals we've conceded in the last two games, one's a wide free-kick against Hibs, a long kick tonight, and then a long throw-in. It's something that we've got to eradicate from our game. Otherwise, we're going to find ourselves in those situations.

Is it even more disappointing the fact that you kind of knew that's what Killie would do? Because they've got good players that do that?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the strength of theirs, and you have to respect that. And you have to be good in their moments, and we weren't. So that's what they're good at. That is the strength of theirs. And we didn't cope with their moments well enough, which has cost us the game.

I know it's very quick after the game and first loss, but what have you learned from tonight?

I think it was the last half an hour of the game. I think before that, I was pleased with some of our football and how we played, and I thought we had good control, and we moved the ball well, and we created some good moments. Even at the start of the second half, we could have maybe gone and got the second goal. It was after we went 2-1 down. We've got to show more courage in who we are and how we're going to get back into the game with how we play. And we lost our discipline in terms of what we were trying to do on the ball, and it just became a little bit off-the-cuff type of football. I understand that in the last few minutes where you're going to put a few more balls into the box and put a few more bodies up there. But before that, I say there's more than enough time. We just needed to reset, calm, and then work our way back into the game again, and we didn't do that.

Were you frustrated seeing them have so much of the ball and you're 69% possession, especially after you went 2-1 down and not really doing enough?

Yeah, we didn't do enough in the last period of the game. Yeah, definitely. You know Kilmarnock are going to put men behind the ball and make it difficult for you. But in them moments, that's where you're relying on the quality of your players on the pitch or that decision-making to make a difference. And in the final period of the game, that's where we were lacking.

Are you likely to have Beni back for Saturday?

Yeah, possibly. I would hope so. He's trained yesterday and he did some training again this afternoon with us.

Can you feel or understand the frustration around Lawrence Shankland? He's played a lot and it just doesn't seem to be going for him at all?

No, it's not. I think the last few performances I've been actually really pleased with his all-round play. He's been so close to scoring. It's not just quite happening for him in front of the goal, but that's not for the want of effort. He's just got to keep believing in who he is as a player because he's bringing a lot to the team. He brings others into the game. I thought some of his play around the box was very good. The goals will come for him. He was close again on a couple of occasions tonight. So it's important that we make sure that he knows what his contribution is to the team and not just his goals.

Is tonight a bit of a reality check or just a wake-up because you're going back to the bottom after a bit of a good factor after you came in?

No, I knew coming here from watching the games. I knew the strengths and the weaknesses and I knew some of the things we needed to improve on. That's my focus. I've just said to the players now, you always learn more in a defeat than you do when you win. I learned a lot about the players tonight and I'll learn a lot about the players in the next few days. We have to go to St Johnstone and show character and show what we're about as a group.