Hearts have "big problems" at the moment, according to former midfielder Michael Stewart, as they struggle with injuries and new signings failing to hit the ground running.
Cammy Devlin, the tenacious midfielder who was enjoying a fine season, is out until the end of February while Lawrence Shankland, captain and top scorer, faces a similar spell on the sidelines.
Without them, Hearts have won just two of their last five in the league and their lead at the top of the table has been cut to just two points.
"Hearts are missing a few players, it's causing them big problems," Stewart said.
"Their signings... I'm not sure about some of the guys that Hearts have brought in. They needed them to come and hit the ground running, and it's definitely not happened.
"[Islam] Chesnokov is one that we've spoken about a lot. He's played a couple of games now, and I've not seen him take a full-back on once yet. Ageu's been in since the summer, he's had injury problems.
"Hearts are a team that have intensity in their play, in regards to physicality, and they've got a real threat at the top of the park. I'm not sure that I'm seeing it with those guys."
Up top, Shankland has been replaced by Pierre Landry Kabore - a summer arrival - and while he scored two against Dundee United, he has struggled to fill the captain's shoes.
"Kabore doesn't look like a real threat up top when Shankland's missing. [Jordi] Altena's come in with a lot of hype, a highly-regarded fullback. Not sure that the manager's convinced about him.
"I can understand why he's wanting to have the sort of more physical presence in there. But then he came on [against Rangers] to play a bit higher up and, again, he never took anyone on."
In the past five games, Hearts have fielded Harry Milne, Oisin McEntee and Chesnokov on the right flank. Milne has mainly featured at left-back this season, with McEntee floating between right-back and central midfield.
"Right-midfield has been a problem position for Hearts all season long, and I'm not sure that they've solved it yet. And without Shankland, centre forward is an issue."