So much at stake for Hearts - why Kilmarnock trip is a must-win after bruising week

It was just over a week ago that Robbie Neilson was asked about the importance of the next couple of games.

At that time, Hearts faced matches against Rangers and Fiorentina, but he dismissed the notion that it was the biggest week his men had faced in a while. He was right to do so because while it perhaps qualified as one of the more challenging periods, those matches did not bring with them the level of expectation they contend with week on week, when facing most of the other Premiership sides on league duty.

Yes, having built themselves up as challengers to the Old Firm dominance they had stoked interest and belief but losing to one of the big two tends to disappoint rather than infuriate most fanbases in Scotland. Just as there was with Fiorentina, there is a grudging acceptance that, financially, they are not competing on a level playing field.

On such occasions it is the nature of the defeat and how meekly a result is conceded or how far they dip below their own standards, without making a real fist of it, that determines the mood of the fans.

Hearts Orestis Kiomourtzoglou and Andy Halliday were frustrated figures as the Tynecastle side suffered Europa Conference League defeat against Fiorentina. Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group

That is not the case when they face the likes of Kilmarnock.

Which is why there is real pressure on the Tynecastle side to bounce back from their seven goals conceded without reply in their last two outings.

So far, they have managed to combine their Europa Conference League demands with domestic duties, following up every group match with victory in their next fixture. But Kilmarnock have already upset them this term, dumping them out of the League Cup. That was an early test of the fans’ tolerance levels.

Now they travel to Rugby Park, needing a win to catapult them back up the league table and restore some confidence after a bruising week.

“Fiorentina were difficult opponents,” said Hearts’ German midfielder Orestis Kiomourtzoglou after Thursday’s match.

“But we can learn a lot from these games. It’s frustrating but you have to look forward and focus on the games coming up.”

Today that is Derek McInnes’ side, where the capital men will be without the suspended Cammy Devlin, before heading to Florence hoping to show they are quick learners.

“We played well in the last away game in Latvia so we have to get that level of performance again,” added Kio.

On league duty they also managed a 3-0 win in their last outing against Motherwell. They had to work for it and ride their luck at times but a similar outcome against a team that has an impressive record at Tynecastle - they are unbeaten in seven - but have been more vulnerable on their own artificial turf, where Hearts have lost just two of the last six meetings.

Results, performances and circumstances crank things up so this week is huge, starting in Ayrshire, taking in Tuscany and then rounding things off with a trip to Aberdeen.

One of those matches can be described as a ‘must do better’ in terms of how they attack the game and the levels of self-belief they project but, in the eyes of the support, the other two are ‘must wins’. The players will know that. So will Neilson. That is why he says there are so many big weeks.