A “frustrated” Steven Naismith warned his players that their current form “cannot continue” after they went five competitive games winless this season following their defeat to Motherwell.

The Gorgie side suffered their fourth consecutive defeat as two headers from set pieces helped Stuart Kettlewell’s side to a 3-1 victory.

Head coach Naismith described the first two goals as “poor” and admitted that Hearts’ handling of such situations “needs improvement”.

“It’s weak,” he said. “There’s nothing more to say. Even the third goal is weak. Every goal we’ve conceded this season has been really, really weak.”

“Our decision making, the quality of our defense and our timing of when we drop back has been really poor and that is costing us a lot of time right now.

“We have to change that. Things cannot continue as they are. On the other hand, we have to get better at creating scoring opportunities. The quality of our final ball leaves a lot to be desired.”

Yutaro Oda’s goal at Fir Park was only Hearts’ second of the season and their lack of attacking prowess clearly frustrated fans, who once again booed their team.

“It’s frustrating,” Naismith added. “Right now we’re second best in both boxes.”

“In the final third, our final passing and decision-making were poor and when we got shots, we didn’t make the most of them.

“In both penalty areas we are not at the level we should be at.”