Lawrence Shankland in brutal Hearts assessment as skipper warns those denying it are lying to themselves

Lawrence Shankland insists anyone taking a change in fortunes at Hearts for granted needs to wake up to reality - because right now they’re not very good. The straight talking Jambos skipper fronted up after Thursday’s brutal Boxing Day derby knock down by Hibs sent them tumbling back into the bottom two.

And with hurt and frustration etched across his face the Tynecastle hitman delivered a withering assessment of where Neil Critchley’s side are at with a relegation scrap looming. Hearts were booed off by brassed-off home punters after the derby disaster. It was an echo of seven days earlier when furious fans turned on their side having watched them blow their chances of Euro progression against Moldovan minnows Petrocub,

Shankland reckons they were well within their rights to hit the Boxing Day boos and admitted HIbs were the better team. And when it was put to him that there was a perception the Jambos are too good for things not to turn, the Scotland striker admitted: “You need to be realistic. We're in a position where the league would tell you that we're not exactly a brilliant team.

“I think the season would tell you that. Right now we're not performing like a good team. So we are where we are on the table because we deserve to be there and that's the truth. If anyone shies away from that, they're telling themselves a lie.

“It's never easy to lose matches, especially a derby game. There’s so much riding on it and it’s the game you're looking forward to coming into. But on the day I think a better team probably won.

“There's obviously frustration from the fans and I understand that. At the end of the game they showed that frustration. That's fully acceptable. It's a fan base that expects us to win games, especially