When picking the bones out of a defeat, it can be easy to do so with the benefit of hindsight.
In terms of Heart of Midlothian's penalty shootout defeat to St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup, however, eyebrows and doubts were raised before the match about the starting XI Derek McInnes picked.
It was clear that it was going to be a back three but there was uncertainty as to who was going to be on the right.
Adam Forrester had returned from his loan at St Johnstone, was part of the travelling party but not in the matchday squad. The two options were either Alexandro Kyziridis as an attacking wing-back or Oisin McEntee, who moved from the middle to the right side.
It was the latter, to an extent.
McEntee played a dual role in the opening stages. In possession, he would move centrally and Landry Kabore would then offer Hearts width. Out of possession, he would return to a wing-back role on the right. It wasn't quite as cut and dry as that but a rough idea.
"We tried to go from in to out, try and dominate the midfield," McInnes explained afterwards. "Harry [Milne], Tomas [Magnusson], Cammy [Devlin] and Oisin just playing a bit narrow with the two wide players on the last line just to try and pin their wing-backs."
It didn't work. The first 30 or so minutes were possibly the worst Hearts had played since McInnes took over. They were everything St Mirren weren't. Disjointed, lacking cohesion, rushed and aimless.
In the first 10 minutes, Magnusson was caught on the ball looking back at his own goal, Oisin McEntee tripped on the ball and Stuart Findlay gave up easy possession when Hearts had worked a good move to attack down the left.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect was how easily St Mirren played through Hearts in the early stages. The ball was allowed to be played into midfield with ease and Keanu Baccus, on a couple of occasions, could turn and dictate play, including a lovely but unpressurised pass down the right for Jayden Richardson to run onto.
You have to be switched on when playing St Mirren, both in and out of possession. They are adept at forcing you sideways and backwards, content when the ball is being played in front of them. Hearts let them off the hook when there were opportunities to play forward but a sideways or backwards pass was chosen instead.
When St Mirren win the ball, you will be required to defend straight away.
During the first half, McInnes signalled to the front three to play tighter as a trio with McEntee now just a wing-back.
It was no surprise to see a triple substitution at half-time with Magnusson, Kabore and Kyziridis go off. Hearts were better, eventually, after the break. Claudio Braga and Elton Kabangu provided a direct threat down the side and behind the St Mirren defence.
Braga had arguably the best chance from open play when he dribbled into the box, while the set-piece goal came via a run down the side of the home defence from Kabangu.
Ultimately, Hearts didn't do enough to deserve to win after McEntee headed in the equaliser, both in normal and extra-time.
If it were a league fixture, you would be reflecting on a good point despite not being anywhere near the best. But exiting a cup competition so early, via penalties, changes the view of the result and the performance.
It is the fifth time Hearts have exited the League Cup at the second round of the competition in the last six years.
There is understandable disappointment considering the ambition of the club. One of two competitions where success is realistic has ended before the end of August.
Since the cup tie loss, fans have expressed their concerns. Let's address some of those:
The back three
Hearts have started with a back three in each of the last four games. Five, if you include the friendly victory over Sunderland, where the team were impressive.
McInnes has an abundance of good centre-backs to choose from, while in the case of St Mirren, it was defending against two powerful and mobile forwards that Robinson's side want to get involved early. It is understandable to want to have a spare centre-back.
Having the ability to play with a back three and the flexibility that it provides, whether it is a front two or a front three, is a positive.
The issue with the back three in the last two games has been evident with a winger and a centre-midfielder playing in the right wing-back role. McInnes has been known to play a winger as a wing-back during his time with Kilmarnock but Forrest struggled defensively against United and was replaced at half-time. McEntee was fine against St Mirren but his presence was missed in the middle of the pitch.
What about 4-4-2?
Against both Aberdeen and Dundee United, Hearts switched to a 4-4-2 formation. McInnes, when he took over, spoke of wanting to play with wingers who provide pace in wide areas.
“All my teams have had pace and wide players," he said. "I do think with the tightness of the pitch here at Tynecastle, it's even more relevant and important that you have good wide players. Players that can isolate people and have that pace."
Hearts now have wingers, but there is an element of players getting up to speed, both in terms of fitness and adapting. Sabah Kerjota has come in from the lower leagues in Italy and was behind his team-mates in terms of preparation, and then Landry Kabore has had to wait for a work permit before getting going.
Motherwell on Saturday is the perfect occasion to put that into action. At Tynecastle Park against a team Hearts will be expected to take the game to.
The right-sided issue
It is an area that is even more in focus now following the weekend. Forrester, who played as a right wing-back against Sunderland, wasn't in the squad, while Michael Steinwender remained on the bench.
Steinwender, playing on the right of a back three, would provide the team with greater flexibility. Take Saturday, for example. If the Austrian played instead of Frankie Kent, McInnes could have easily pivoted to 4-3-3 with McEntee moving into a midfield role.
McEntee looked like the perfect player to play in the middle of the park against St Mirren and help Hearts win that battle, yet he played an in-between role before settling as a right wing-back.
It felt as though Hearts were hamstrung by neither going with a natural right-sided option in Forrester or with Steinwender, who would have allowed for an easier transition.
As things stand, it doesn't appear to be an area the team will recruit in, but against Motherwell, Forrester or Steinwender become more appealing options after Saturday.
New boys
An away match at St Mirren was always going to be a baptism of fire for the new players, especially Magnusson and Kabore, getting their first start and debut, respectively. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't have started.
Both have been at the club for a few weeks now and have been brought in ready to play.
Take Magnusson, his size, his presence and what Hearts feel he will add to the team all suit games like Saturday. Kabore on the right of the front three is nothing new to the player and is perhaps where McInnes views him as most effective.
The issue is that they were part of a collective disappointment and team and system that struggled in the first half.
Creation from open play
This is an understandable early concern. Of the six Hearts goals from the last three games, one has come from open play.
Across the first two league games, only Dundee recorded a lower open play xG than Hearts. And against St Mirren, Hearts were most threatening from set-pieces once more.
In the two league games, Hearts have focused much of their attack down the flanks and crosses have resulted in corners.
A move to 4-4-2 would provide Hearts with more creative threat from wide areas, especially with the wide players capable of moving either way to create openings.
Post-match reaction
The result and performance were disappointing and Hearts fell below the standards required. But to view it as anything more than that is reactionary.
It should demonstrate the expectation that comes from the support and such results and exiting the League Cup at this early stage shouldn't be met with a shrug of the shoulders and accepted.
Equally, it doesn't mean that everything is set to fall apart and it is going to be a season of struggle, or that because the team lost on penalties means there is little chance of finishing third.
Progress has been made, a new management team have turned over a squad. A squad that will evolve further in the next few transfer windows. Yes, there are still areas that can be improved upon, but it can take time.
Saturday showed it is still very much a work in progress. McInnes will learn from it and some players will be better for the experience.
It was a disappointing result and performance. There will be more of those. Managers and players have off days. It is about ensuring those off days are not common and when they arrive, the team bounce back positively. For Hearts, that starts with Motherwell this weekend.
