Craig Halkett is looking forward to getting back on the pitch against St Mirren this weekend and helping Hearts snap out of their recent slump.
The influential centre-back has missed the last six matches with a hamstring injury sustained against Celtic last month.
In his absence, Hearts have won only one game in regulation 90 minutes and have lost their last three league fixtures.
Halkett is adamant that it is merely a form dip and is eager to help his team get back on track as he prepares to return to action at St Mirren Park on Saturday.
“Everyone in the league has gone through a three or four-game period where they’ve struggled and not picked up points,” he said.
“We’ve been quite lucky that it’s only just happened to us. It’s a minor stall in our performances.
“I don’t think it’s anything too drastic that we need to worry about. If we go out on Saturday and put on a performance like we know we can and get the three points then we can look forward.”
Hearts are nine points clear of the chasing pack in the battle for third place in the cinch Premiership and are in the last eight of the Scottish Cup, but supporters are angered by their recent form.
“The fans have got a right to be frustrated and disappointed with the performances,” said Halkett.
“They come along and pay their money and they’re allowed their opinion but I think from a player’s point of view, we hope they can try and stay patient with us and keep getting behind us.
“We’re not going out meaning to lose games. We’re always trying our best and if we keep doing that, results will come back and we’ll push hard at the end of the season.”
Halkett is pleased to be back in contention after initially fearing he may be sidelined for longer.
“I’ve been back running for a couple of weeks now and I’ve trained with the squad so I’m as fit as I can be,” he said.
“Initially when I got the scan and it came back as a grade 2 tear, I feared the worst. I got a vague timeframe of four to six weeks but I think myself and the physio have been aiming more towards the four weeks, which has just passed on Wednesday, so I’m glad to be back.
“I never wanted to be out for too long because it’s a really important part of the season with 11 league games left and obviously the Scottish Cup as well. My focus was always to work as hard as possible to get back and help the team.”
