Christophe Berra urges Hearts to bounce back from Livingston mauling

Christophe Berra admits losing 5-0 to Livingston is a night he 'will probably never forget' but has urged his Hearts team-mates to move on from the debacle.

Hearts captain Christophe Berra cuts a dejected figure after the Livingston defeat. Picture: SNS

The Hearts players cancelled their scheduled Christmas trip to Prague in the aftermath of Friday’s shock result. They had been meant to fly out the following day. Aberdeen is now as far as they will be going before Christmas. Berra insists Hearts need to start putting things right on the field as quickly as possible, starting with this weekend’s trip to Pittodrie.

Aberdeen are now above the Tynecastle side on goal difference in fourth place and have the chance to extend their lead tomorrow when they host Dundee.

“It’s a night I will probably never forget but we have to move on,” said Berra. “We should hang our heads in shame and then try to bounce back. If we go to Pittodrie and win then it could be a different outlook. We need to buck up our ideas.”

Friday night’s clash at Livingston was meant to be one to remember for Berra for all the right reasons. As well as being when Hearts planned to return to the top of the table alongside Celtic, the game marked the defender’s 200th appearance for Hearts.

Instead, Berra was powerless to prevent an all-out collapse as the visitors conceded five times in the last 20 minutes.

“It’s not what I wanted and it’s not one for me to remember,” said Berra. “Getting beaten in any game is hard to take but there are ways to lose.”

“We have to take it on the chin,” he added. “It’s a great win in Livi’s history and it will go down in our history for the wrong reasons.

“We have to stand up and be counted and come back stronger. We have to take the criticism which we will rightly receive and get on with it.”