Stephen Kingsley accepts Hearts have dropped well below their best this season, but is determined to halt their four-game losing streak when Aberdeen visit Tynecastle on Saturday.

“We know the demands that the fans have on us, but we set ourselves demands as players and we haven’t met them anywhere near enough so far this season," said the defender.

“We haven’t shown the fans enough, it’s poor goals that we have conceded, and we’ve not been creative enough in the final third.

“So we need to look at the spells where we have done well and make sure we can turn that into a 90-minute performance and build confidence again.

“We believe in ourselves. We have shown in little spells - nowhere near enough - but we are still confident that when we get it right we will be in a much better position than we are now.

“The hunger from us as players is always there, especially with our recent results.

“Saturday’s game is two teams that are in a similar boat and it’s going to be a massive match for us. We’ll be doing everything we can to make sure we’re as well prepared as we can be.”