Hearts: Your Views

Scott Jardine, Joppa: "A dreadful performance from Hearts. We got off to a bad start when we got caught out by the early goal and it never really got much better after that. We tried to put Aberdeen under a wee bit of pressure before the break but they held firm.

"In the second half, they came out of the traps quickly and got the second goal that effectively killed the game off as a contest. After that, while we huffed and puffed, we never really looked like scoring and the third goal just about summed us up really.

"We were dire throughout and we have no reason to complain about the result. In fact, had Aberdeen been a bit sharper in front of goal, it might have been five or six. Saturday is another day, of course, and all we can hope for is a much, much-improved performance against St Johnstone.

"We will need to play far better if we are to take anything from the game and we really need the points because we've allowed Aberdeen and Motherwell to close the gap on us. We need to try to get back on track because making the top six is most definitely our most realistic ambition now."

Mark Horsburgh, Dalry: "That was a nightmare and, to be honest, I'm not quite sure how it all went so wrong. We lost the first goal but we pretty much dominated the first half after that and I thought that we were a wee bit unfortunate to go in behind at half-time.

"However, in the second half, we switched off and fell further behind. After that, we lost all of our shape and there was no cohesion at all. The injury to Scott Robinson was a blow and I hope it's not too serious because we are really desperately short of options up front. I also hope that the injury to Ian Black is not too bad – he might not have had the best of games but he always gives his all and it looked to be a very serious injury.

"On the whole, it was a very forgettable night for us. I hope we can bounce back on Saturday but it's hard to see how that can be achieved."

Eric Stewart, Musselburgh: "A very, very bad night for Hearts. The result was absolutely awful and I don't think anyone could have seen that coming. More worrying than the result, though, was the manner of the performance. In recent weeks, there has been plenty of effort and endeavour. We were solid and looked as if we were growing in confidence but all of that was missing last night. We were a little unlucky in the sense that their opening goal looked offside and then I felt we had a stonewall claim for a penalty turned down when Michael Stewart was fouled in the box. However, despite those decisions going against us, we could have played anyone in the SPL last night and lost – and we would have struggled against a lot of lower-league teams, so bad was our display.

"Other than Michael Stewart and Scott Robinson, there was nothing at all that could be taken from that performance. With a big league game on Saturday and a semi-final on Tuesday, it's important that we get back to our best form as soon as possible. The injury problems are mounting up at just the wrong time and I hope that Csaba can get help from Romanov."