Craig Halkett knows Hearts' position far from acceptable as he insists lack of winter break is a BLESSING

Craig Halkett insists the lack of a winter break is a blessing for Hearts as they look for a January restart on their broken season.

The defender accepts Thursday’s derby disaster was another low point in a depressing campaign that has seen the Jambos win just four of 19 league games to sit second bottom. Some might say a break in January would allow Neil Critchley to regroup his players to attack the second half of the season with a fresh mindset.

But Halkett is relieved the three-week shutdown has been ditched for the first time in four years. He’d rather have the chance to play their way out of the slump than sit idle and let it fester on their minds. The ex-Livingston ace also knows the transfer window, which opens on Wednesday, will offer Critchley a chance to add freshness to his struggling squad.

Halkett said: “The position we’re in, we want to play as many games as we can to get that chance to turn it around quicker. If there was a break and we were still in the same position, you would be mulling over it for a couple of weeks and looking back, whereas you don’t have the chance to do that. So it’s just about getting the head down, working hard.

“If new players come in this January, they’re going to need to hit the ground running. Everyone in the building will help with that. But I think the more games that come, the better chance it is for us to pick up wins.

“The squad that we’ve got just now should be more than good enough. So everyone will be training hard and fighting for their place. But if new bodies come in we’ll welcome them and we’ll do our best to make sure they hit the ground running.”

Hearts trudged off from Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to Hibs – the first time they’d lost a derby at home in five