Gary Mackay: Killie dump Hearts back to reality with third now aim

The one team that was always going to be capable of taking advantage of our recent loss of form is Kilmarnock - and that's how it proved on Saturday.

What Mixu Paatelainen's impressive side have in abundance that we don't carry when we are without Kevin Kyle and when certain creative players are off form is a genuine cutting edge, and if you're not on your game they can really punish you. We saw that the last time they came to Tynecastle when they gave us a real going over, and sometimes it's the case that teams get a wee feel for certain stadiums.

After Saturday's defeat, the realism now is that we're going for third. The loss of a few key individuals over the past weeks will have given the manager a greater insight into what sort of squad he has at his disposal. You obviously never want to lose games, but if there's any positives to be taken from our recent slump in form, it's the fact it will have allowed the manager to size up those who haven't being playing as regularly. Some of them have stepped up to the mark, but one or two others maybe haven't and that will give the manager and his staff food for thought in terms of next season's plans.

This is a time when the manager will be making decisions and telling the owner, "we could maybe lose this guy or that guy", but we could do with strengthening in these positions as he thinks about how to move the team forward.

Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown will be delighted with how things have gone this season but they certainly won't be settling on what they've got. They'll want progress for next season and that will involve personnel changes, with some players coming in and others moving on. It may also involve someone like Gordon Smith coming back from his loan spell and being given a chance.

But the one concern I have at present is that, probably from Craig Thomson down the way, we don't seem to have any youngsters ready to make the breakthrough into the first-team squad. People at Hearts get fed up with me banging on about it, and it may be that Jim has identified one or two who might be ready, but the lack of players coming through from the youth ranks is something that definitely needs looked at.

Back to the here and now, there's no getting away from the fact our form has tailed off since we lost Kyle. He was the focal point of the team when we are at our peak and unfortunately we don't have a direct replacement for him. David Obua's a big lad but he doesn't have the same physical presence as Kyle. It's not just a physical presence Kevin brings, though. He's fearless regardless of who he is playing against and I think that transmits itself to the rest of the team. When he's not there, we seem to lack an aura of authority. But there are also a few others we've missed in the last few games such as Ian Black, Ruben Palazuelos, Andy Webster and Lee Wallace.

I don't think there's a danger of the season petering out for Hearts because the management simply won't allow it. They'll be desperate to ensure that we regain our momentum in time for next season. They will do that with the return of various individuals from injury and suspension and also by telling those in the side at the moment that they need to make their mark just now if they want to be a part of things for next term when it looks like we will have the Europa League to look forward to. There's also the matter of ensuring season-ticket sales are high next year.

That shouldn't be too much of a concern anyway because the prospect of European football should be enough to keep the fans optimistic. As a professional player you have to keep trying to get results, earn your bonuses and keep the fans onside after what has been an excellent season so far. That should be enough to drive them for the remainder of the season, starting with our next game at Tannadice next week. Despite our healthy cushion in third place, it is a massive game because Dundee United have got a few games in hand and will probably still have to play us again in the top six, so we need to kill them off once and for all.

Saunter south of the Border

I DIDN'T manage to get along to Tynecastle on Saturday, as I decided to treat myself to a double dose of English Premier League football.

My old midfield rival Peter Grant sorted me out with a ticket for Birmingham against West Brom on Saturday and then it was on to Molineux yesterday where my former Hearts manager Joe Jordan had left me a ticket for Wolves against Tottenham. West Brom were excellent and Birmingham, as well as their fans, were very flat considering they'd won the Carling Cup.

And yesterday's game was an absolute belter. Luka Modric was the star of the show. I also learned first-hand that it's not just Scottish refs who get stick as the Wolves fans bellowed "3-2 to the referee" after some dodgy decisions went against them. For once, I wasn't too bothered to see ex-Hibee Steven Fletcher finding the net and it was also nice to catch up with Christophe Berra after the game.