Hearts must keep their heads, says Alexander

HEARTS goalkeeper Neil Alexander has called on his side to up their mental game after hitting the first bump in a road of what had been largely uninterrupted success since the beginning of last season.

The first defeat of the campaign — to Hamilton — was followed up on Friday with a 2-0 loss at Inverness, somewhat taking the wind out of the sails which had seen the side mark their return to the top flight by winning the first five matches and soaring to the summit.

Alexander made efforts to admonish his team-mates after second-half goals from James Vincent and Miles Storey had earned Inverness their first win of the season.

Aberdeen visit Tynecastle next weekend and the 37-year-old said: ‘We’re a young squad and we’re learning and we have to learn to maybe be a bit stronger mentally.

‘We have to realise that when things aren’t happening at one end we must be solid at the other.

‘But we are so determined to play well, create chances and score goals that we’re maybe too keen sometimes to go forward.

‘But it’s a learning curve for everyone and we’re realistic enough to know we are not going to play well every week and win.

‘Last season was phenomenal. But we have stepped up a level. It was tough against Inverness, but we’ll learn our lessons and be stronger for it.

‘With every defeat you need to take positives out of the game. We were full of belief that we could get some reward from Inverness but it didn’t work out for whatever reasons.

‘But life goes on and we’ll recover and prepare right. We have two huge games in the next couple of weeks to concentrate on, so it’s back to the drawing board.

‘We’ll go away and look at what we could have done better and hopefully take that into those games.’

The games Alexander was referring to are at home to Aberdeen and away to Celtic and he admitted: ‘They are going to be tough, but this is where we wanted to be.

‘All the hard work done last season was to get to where we are now; to play against the likes of Aberdeen and Celtic, so it’s a fantastic couple of weeks ahead that the players are looking forward to.

‘We’ve got a lot of belief in ourselves, but we aren’t under any illusions. We know it’s going to be difficult, but it doesn’t take much motivation to get yourself up for those sorts of games.

‘The players are learning and growing every week and we’re gaining more experience, which will serve us well in the long run.

‘We lacked a bit of quality in the final third against Inverness; that killer ball and that final cross and getting someone on the end of it.

‘We huffed and puffed and didn’t create any clear-cut chances, which was disappointing. But when that happens you’ve got to be tight at the back and then the worst that happens is a 0-0 draw.’