Boss left bewildered by visitors’ lack of fight

DANIEL STENDEL admitted he was shocked at how little fight Hearts showed as their hopes of survival were dealt a hammer blow by St Mirren. Jon Obika’s goal early in the second half saw the Buddies move up to ninth place in the Premiership and left the Gorgie outfit rooted to the bottom. Now four points adrift of even a play-off spot with eight games left, the German struggled to comprehend why his side were second best all over the pitch. ‘That was a big disappointment. From the first minute, we were not ready,’ said the Tynecastle boss. ‘We didn’t play how we wanted to play and St Mirren played how we expected. We conceded a goal in the second half but it was more our fault than a great chance for them and it decided the game. ‘I can’t understand why we weren’t ready. I have no reasons for this, especially after our results last week. There are no reasons for performances like this. ‘I expected a little difference from the games against Rangers and Hibs but no one expected a performance like that in the first half. ‘We still had 45 minutes to win but that wasn’t the first time this season we have conceded a goal in the first five minutes of the second half.’ Asked if he felt Hearts’ chances of survival were now diminishing, Stendel replied: ‘I said to the players that today wasn’t (the moment relegation would be decided) but it was a big punch for us, especially after the last week. ‘I will never give up and I expected the same from my players. But we cannot play like this. It doesn’t matter if we win or lose — we can’t play without a fight given our position in the league. ‘I can’t say how many games we need to win. I need to understand first what has happened tonight and then I will look at the next game on Sunday. We need wins. It doesn’t matter how many. With performances like this we won’t get too many.’ Saints boss Jim Goodwin said: ‘I am delighted, it was a big night for the club and our biggest game of the season. ‘It was a performance of sheer attitude, character, desire and resilience. Everything you want from a group of players and there wasn’t one below-par performance. To a man, everyone did a job.’