James Penrice warns Hearts to toughen up as defender knows others will copy Kilmarnock game plan

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James Penrice has warned Hearts to toughen up and learn lessons from their Killie calamity quickly - as other sides will be gunning to copy the Ayrshiremen’s Tynecastle blueprint.

The Jambos sunk back to the bottom of the league on Wednesday night after throwing away a 1-0 lead and losing the physical battle with Derek McInnes’ side. Hearts had looked comfortable in the early stages of the second half with new boss Neil Critchley chasing a third home win from his three home games in Gorgie.

But as soon as Killie upped the aggression led by powerhouse frontmen Kyle Vassell and Marley Watkins, Hearts crumbled. To rub salt into their wounds the defeat saw Hibs jump back above the Jambos at the foot of the table.

And full-back Penrice admitted: “We need to be much, much stronger. Other teams will see what happened and they'll try and replicate what Killie did. I think Killie came here with a plan that just sit in and we'll try and nick something.

“Ultimately, our response wasn’t good enough and that's the bottom line. Let's be honest, it doesn't look good. Everyone sees the league table, but we are so early in the season that it doesn't really matter.

“What matters is putting points on the board and climbing that table. For us, it's not been good enough, plain and simple. Wednesday didn't look like the last week or so. I think that's why we've walked away with nothing.

"For the position we went in at half-time, I thought we were really comfortable. And then to come out and lose two goals like that, it's not good enough. We know it. As soon as they get the second goal, they sat in. And I think we should be used to that. We should be used to teams coming here and trying to sit in and trying to nick points.

"We've only got ourselves to blame. The two goals are really, really bad from our point of view. It just comes down to we don't concede the goals and we don't lose the game."

The Killie defeat was Critchley’s first as boss. The Englishman’s whirlwind introduction to life in Gorgie has seen him face four games in 12 days including a European clash with Omonia and an Edinburgh derby.

Killie boss McInnes admitted he expected Hearts’ legs to go in the second half due to their hectic schedule. But Penrice insists that’s not an excuse. He said: “No, not really. We've got a big squad. The manager says that everyone's got a position to play for and I think it's all about the individual to try and keep their jersey.

“But there's a massive squad there and you can dip in and out with players. I think you've seen that with last week, a couple of changes, stuff like that. On Sunday, a couple of changes. Ultimately, anyone that goes on the park should perform because it's not good enough."

Propping up the Premiership after 11 games might not be what Penrice had in mind when he made the move from Livingston in the summer. But the 25-year-old insists he is still living the dream.

He said: “Although it's not been absolutely brilliant, we haven't won a lot of games, I'm absolutely buzzing to be here.

“I still am, every day coming in. It's a massive honour to play for this club and I think it would be a lot better if we were a lot higher up the league and doing a lot better. My family are buzzing. They've settled in here, they love it. I just really wish that we were doing a lot better."

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