LOSING two games in succession isn’t exactly a regular occurrence for Hearts these days. It didn’t happen at all last term as Robbie Neilson’s charges swept to the Championship title by an emphatic 21-point winning margin to secure promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking.

No, you have to go all the way back to the tail end of the 2013/14 campaign, when the Tynecastle club were in freefall after being placed in administration, to find the last time they were defeated in consecutive matches.

Yet, Neilson, whose side have suffered reverses away to Hamilton and Inverness in their last two outings, always anticipated the return to the Premiership would present fresh challenges.

The former Scotland internationalist believes it is how Hearts respond to the setbacks which will determine how they fare. And he believes a game against Aberdeen at Tynecastle in front of a sell-out crowd is the perfect opportunity for his team to get their league campaign back on track.

“There are always going to be periods in the season where form or luck doesn’t go for you,” he said. “It is how you progress from that. The season isn’t judged over two games, it is judged over 38. You have to take the highs and the lows, the good and the bad.

“It will be good to get back to Tynecastle. We will get a full house and it is a huge game to play in. If you are going to pick a game to come back to after a couple of losses, it would be Aberdeen at home because the atmosphere is there, the build-up is there and the expectation is there.

“Playing in front of a full house is something our guys look forward to. The hard ones are the ones away from home where you play in front of 1,500 or 2,000 people. That is difficult because they are used to playing in front of big crowds.

“The Inverness game on Friday night was difficult because there wasn’t a huge fan base there. You go out and the atmosphere just wasn’t what the players were used to.”

The decision by Neilson’s opposite number Derek McInnes to hand Ryan Jack the Aberdeen captaincy has been vindicated by the Pittodrie club’s record-breaking start to the season. Seven straight league wins, including one against champions Celtic at home, and moving five points clear at the top of the Premiership table, has more than justified his appointment already.

Yet, when McInnes named Jack as the successor to Russell Anderson, the experienced centre-half who retired from pro football during the close season, it was something of a surprise. Nobody could question the central midfielder’s ability as he had been a virtual ever-present in the first team for five seasons and instrumental in the success they had enjoyed. But promoting a 23-year-old to such an important role was still a risk.

Sam Nicholson, though, encountered Jack after being called into the Scotland Under-21 squad and thought it was an inspired choice. The Hearts player believes his influence has helped Aberdeen to emerge as genuine title contenders.

“I trained with the Under-21 squad last season and I know what he’s like as a player,” he said. “He is a great all-round player. The thing I admired most at the time – he was the captain of the Under-21 side and I had only just got in the side – was his professionalism. Even before training he was doing extra stretches and little added touches.

“I think he is a great player and someone to look up to, particularly if you are a young boy at Aberdeen, and I’m sure he will continue to do really well. I wasn’t surprised when he was made captain.

“From what I saw when we were away, he was always going to do a great job. He will be massively respected at Aberdeen and that is something which is vital when picking a captain. He’s got that respect and the role will suit him.

“I was a young boy going into the 21s and was a bit nervous but he was welcoming, made me feel like part of the squad and told me to just enjoy the training. That is what you need when you are going into a new environment. When you are the captain, you need the right attitude and the right mindset. Ryan Jack has that.”

Despite Nicholson’s admiration for the player and his side, and Hearts’ consecutive defeats, Nicholson is confident his side can prevail this afternoon.

“It is early in the season so a lot of teams are still contenders,” he said. “You never know how a season is going to go. It is a long season and you have just got to take it game by game and see how we get on.”

A victory today would put Nicholson and his team-mates just three points behind the league leaders and be the perfect start to what could be a defining week. A League Cup tie at Kilmarnock on Wednesday awaits before a Premiership date at Celtic on Saturday.

“We would hope to have a better idea where we are after this week,” he said. “Some teams start the season well and die out, some start poorly and spring into action towards the end. But, yes, we could get more of an idea what the season will be like over the next few fixtures.”