BY DARREN JOHNSTONE @CCP_Sport
Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson has reminded his players that they have a duty to excite the Tynecastle crowd.
Neilson was disappointed that Saturday’s bright start against Dundee turned flat after Arnaud Djoum’s 24th minute header was cancelled out by Rory Loy’s second half equaliser.
A passive performance on the pitch was mirrored in the stands as the majority of the 16,700 crowd were left with little to shout about after the break.
Despite winning five of their eight Premiership matches at home so far this season, Neilson insists his team must do more to involve their supporters.
He said: “It became a bit flat and I said that to them at half-time, ‘you have to excite the fans’.
“The only way you can excite them is by getting the ball and running at people, creating chances, getting in crosses and taking shots.
“We didn’t do that and it was as if everyone else was leaving it to the other guy and we can’t have that.
“I don’t know why it was so flat. We tried a few things to get a bit of energy about the team and all in all it was just a flat day. We can’t have too many of them.
“When you score a goal like that, you think you’re going to get the next one quite easily and I’m trying to instil that in the players that you have to go and earn it.
“It just went flat, the whole place was. We didn’t give the fans energy and we didn’t create enough to get them on their feet and create excitement. Our job is to win games and entertain and we didn’t do it as well as we should.”
Neilson, whose side travel to Motherwell this weekend, added: “You have to do that at any stadium when you’re playing at home, you have to get the fans excited and get into good areas.
“We were just slow moving the ball and it was one of those days.”
