You can talk about the need for patience, highlight the absentees and try to accentuate the positives all you want.

You can point out the high turnover of players in the summer and the impossibly high bar which was set last season until the cows come home.

But the bottom line, for Alfred Johansson and Motherwell, is that the alarm bells are now ringing.

For the first time since 2003, the Fir Park side have lost six consecutive league matches. After a promising start under the Swede, the Steelmen have fallen off a cliff.

By the end of this latest reverse, sympathy from the visiting Hearts supporters was in short supply. ‘You’re going down with the Hibees,’ was the cry. With each passing week, you feel less inclined to dismiss such a scenario out of hand.

A year of the fans’ dreams under Jens Berthel Askou is fast threatening to become their worst nightmare under his successor.

To be clear, you could not say that this latest reverse came as a result of a dismal performance. Motherwell certainly had their chances. Before and after falling behind to Claudio Braga’s goal, they also showed plentiful spirit.

The requisite quality throughout the display was still lacking, though. This team struggles to find the killer instinct and is also wholly unconvincing defensively. It’s a fatal combination.

Johansson’s men now travel to Perth on Wednesday just a point off the bottom of the table and in dreadful form. Quite simply, that is a game they and their manager dare not lose.

Suspicions that Motherwell would prove to be the perfect opponents for Hearts after a stinging defeat at Parkhead and a dignified loss away to Trabzonspor proved bang on.

After a sluggish start, doubtless the result of the arduous travelling to and from Turkey, Wouter Vrancken’s men showed commendable resolve.

Whatever Motherwell threw at them in search of the equaliser in the second half, they stood up to it. The game was up the instant Calvin Miller claimed the second with an arrow of a strike late on. Hearts won the game primarily because they won the battle.

You had to hand it to Vrancken’s side. After a taxing week which encompassed two defeats, they’d plenty of excuses here if they wanted to find them. But they dug deep and showed character to get the job done in conditions which were at times brutal. They’ll feel a lot better about themselves going into Wednesday’s game with Rangers and Sunday’s Hampden clash with Hibs.

Motherwell’s plight wasn’t helped by Alex Lowry picking up an injury and Lukas Fadinger calling off sick. Dylan Levitt and Jake Girdwood-Reich came in with Jordan McGhee making his first start for the club 15 months after joining from Dundee.

Hearts’ list of absentees just seems to grow and grow. Already without half a team of certain starters, Vrancken also lost Harry Milne and Christian Borchgrevink this week.

The infuriating thing for Motherwell supporters was that their side started the stronger.

Dispensing with the risky approach which had cost them so dear at Rugby Park, they ensured Hearts faced their own goal as quickly as possible.

Under pressure, a heavy back pass from Jordi Altena forced Beau Reus to play the ball with his thigh. It presented Seb Palmer-Houlden with half a chance. A shot into the side net was the best the forward could do.

Palmer-Houlden then did well to break up a Hearts attack in its infancy. Emmanuel Longelo lengthened his stride and fired straight at the keeper.

McGhee also forced Reus into a stop after some neat footwork in the penalty box. From the home side’s point of view, so far, so good.

The concern was that they hadn’t scored when they’d been on top. And when Hearts belatedly asked a question of them, they did not have the answer.

Braga helped relieve the pressure on his side with some dancing feet and a deflected shot which forced a corner Motherwell never cleared.

When the ball was gathered by Stephen Kingsley, he chipped it into the feet of the Portuguese. Braga fed Sabah Kerjota on the flank then darted back into the area.

Kerjota’s delivery from the right was excellent. Braga found a pocket of space in between two defenders and his attempted back-header demanded pin-point accuracy. As soon as he made the connection, he knew it was in.

Reus immediately threatened to let Motherwell hit back by overplaying. Levitt nipped in but the keeper redeemed himself with a decent save.

With Palmer-Houlden failing in his attempt to acrobatically convert a corner, Motherwell were behind at the break.

The response came by way of Ibrahim Said taking out four men as he threatened to slalom his way to goal. Levitt also had a stinging shot deflected wide.

Kerjota had his name taken for mouthing off, with Jamie McCart also falling foul of referee Duncan Nicholson for scything down Said.

Palmer-Houlden’s last action before being replaced by Eythor Bjorgolfsson was to work Reus with an angled drive. The Icelander’s first contribution was an inauspicious one, fresh airing Tawanda Maswanhise’s cut-back.

Bjorgolfsson’s day didn’t get any better. Longelo’s dart to the line presented him with a gilt-edged chance to make amends. Somehow, the ball ended up behind him.

The forward certainly wasn’t short of opportunities. After stellar work by Jardell Kanga, he thought he’d found the bottom corner with a header. Reus shifted his feet and saved.

With Hearts increasingly content to sit deep and defend their lead, Motherwell continued to press and probe for the leveller. While you could not fault their application, they struggled to deliver the final ball. The execution of set-pieces was also not what it might have been.

Any slim hopes the home supporters had of seeing their side end this wretched sequence ended four minutes from time.

Only recently on the field as a substitute, Stephen O’Donnell slashed a clearance straight at the feet of Miller. The Hearts winger steadied himself then pinged the ball into the bottom right-hand corner from the edge of the box.

A fine day’s work for Hearts. Another troubling episode for this free-falling Motherwell team.

MOTHERWELL (4-2-3-1): Paulsen 5; Sparrow 5 (O’Donnell 83), Girdwood-Reich 5.5, Moorman 5.5 (Knight-Lebel 61), Longelo 6; McGhee 6 (Kanga 65), Levitt 6.5; Maswanhise 5, Said 6, Hodge 5.5; Palmer-Holden 5 (Bjorgolfsson 65). 

Booked: Sparrow, Said, Maswanhise. 

Manager: Alfred Johansson 4.

HEARTS (4-4-2): Reus 7; Mato 7, Fagan-Walcott 6.5, McCart 6.5, Kingsley 7; Kerjota 7 (Miller 65), Magnusson 6.5 (Mendy 64), Altena 7, McPake 7 (Guendouz 90); BRAGA 8 (Williams 88), Wilson 7 (Dhanda 87). 

Booked: Fagan-Walcott, McCart, Kerjota, Mato, Dhanda. 

Manager: Wouter Vrancken 7.5.

Referee: Duncan Nicholson.

Attendance: 9,911.