What is the problem & solution to our away form?

Something that has scratched many a Hearts fans head during what seems to be decades is what the hell is happening with our away form and what is needed to put it right. With our once formidable home form under threat with a recent record of 3 league wins out of 8 which includes dropped points against St Mirren, Kilmarnock & Motherwell, it is imperative that we address this long standing issue and find a solution which would go a long way to helping us achieve our season ambitions, however, that is easier said than done. Steven Naismith in his post match interviews is at least saying the right thing but a deep dive into an admittedly small sample size would suggest that very little has changed. “It was very passive, slow and safe. The safety then turned into nerves.” Those were the words of the then technical director in the aftermath of our 1-0 defeat in Dens Park last month. Passive is very much a copy and past term which could describe many of our performances away from the home comforts of Tynecastle over the past few years. Comparing our 4 non old firm away fixtures under Naismith to a similar sample size in the final weeks of Robbie Neilson's reign throws up a worrying trend in terms of teams conceding possession to us in our own half safe in the knowledge that we lack any penetration or guile from our available centre half and central midfield options.

Neilson

1 Draw & 3 Defeats

Average possession of 61%

Average of 9.8 shots on goal

Average of 2.8 shots on target

Naismith

1 Win, 1 Draw & 2 Defeats

Average possession of 65%

Average of 12 shots on goal

Average of 6 shots on target

It could be argued that the players need to shoulder more accountability given they are the one constant through these two spells.

The thing is this though, what if the problem is not the players, what if the real problem is the manager?

In my opinion using the privileged position of armchair quarterbacking with hindsight, we are over complicating our style of play following the trend of elite clubs who favour playing with inverted full backs and patiently building from the back. If you possess more match winners in your squad than the opposition (which we will most weeks) then we should focus on matching teams in terms of endeavour and drive and look to turn defenders and pulling them out of their comfort zone by getting the ball out diagonally to our wide options as quickly as possible.

A lot has been made of the one dimensional approach taken by Barry Robson and his Aberdeen team but I would not be turning my nose up at it. Aberdeen's flaw with the system is not the approach itself but instead not having the right individuals to implement it. You need box to box midfielders who press high and aggressively on any second ball situations which does not get the best out of the likes of Clarkson & McGrath but would suit number 8's such as Devlin & Nieuwenhoff. A 4-2-4 system using this pairing and asking our full backs to play in a more traditional role in a flat back 4 will undoubtedly offer opportunities to the opposition especially those who are quick in the transition but the reward would outweigh that risk and the intent itself I think would help curry favour with a fan base desperate to see their team play with a tempo and aggressiveness synonymous with the club.

Albeit from a different era, there are lessons from our best performing side of the past 25 years to note. The 97/98 team was loaded with pace at both ends of the park with the likes of Adam, McCann, Ritchie & Weir which allowed us to go back to front as quickly as possibly stretching back lines with the intelligent running off the shoulder of players from Adam which created space to allow the likes of McCann, Fulton & Cameron to contribute in the final third. It was not a perfect system with only 5 clean sheets away that season but on the flip side we only failed to score on 3 occasions (two of which at Parkhead).

No matter what the context or the environment, Hearts performances have been consistently sub-par when playing away to our top 6 rivals in the League. But as the laughable nature of our collapse at Dens park illustrates, when the pressure is on, we can crumble against lesser sides on the road, too.

3 away games in the space of a week represents a real fork in the road moment for this squad and in particular Steven Naismith. Here is hoping we gain some momentum in the league and a trip to Hampden during this run.