John Souttar insists there is no time for sorry Hearts to feel broken

John Souttar, right, says Hearts cannot afford to dwell on their midweek defeat by Celtic as they prepare to face fellow Premiership strugglers Hamilton and St Mirren in the next seven days. Picture: Alan Harvey/SNS

Labelling Wednesday’s 5-0 defeat at Celtic “a terrible night”, the defender said the next two matches against Hamilton and St Mirren are as big as any in his four years at Tynecastle Park.

Hearts sit bottom of the  Premiership ahead of back-to-back meetings with the two clubs directly above them. Hamilton visit Gorgie tomorrow before another critical match with St Mirren in Paisley next Friday evening.

Souttar was dejected after the midweek defeat in Glasgow, however he advised team-mates they cannot afford to wallow in self-pity with two monumental fixtures on the horizon.

“We’ve got to try to forget about that. It was a terrible night for us as a team. As bad as we were, Celtic were good. But the next two games are the ones we need to look at – they are the biggest of the season. The games are as big as I have probably played in since I came to the club. They are huge and we have to win them.

“We can’t let Wednesday’s game affect us as the next two are massive. Everyone has to take responsibility in these next two, as we have all played a part in where we are now.

“We can’t dwell on the Celtic defeat. We have three days to focus on Hamilton. It’s going to come quick and whatever has happened is done. We need to forget about it and focus on Saturday. We need to win.

“In the first half, I felt we  were in the game. There were periods when we had the ball and we kept possession, which was good.

“Then we came out and  conceded a goal right away in the second half and that sort of killed us. Everything went against us after that and it was a bad day at the office.

“We have actually had a not bad period of games but we were very poor as a team in the second half against  Celtic. However, there is no point feeling sorry for ourselves. We have to win on Saturday but the next two games are massive.

“We are bottom of the league and there is no getting away from it – we are in a dogfight. Games are coming round and we have to step up. The manager has come in and we have had a turn in form in periods.

“You can see what he is trying to do but no matter how we play, we need to win. We need to pick up results.

“Everyone felt that we would kick on after Rangers. It was a massive result for us but for whatever reason, we didn’t back it up. We need to put all our focus on Saturday and go and get a result.”