Tynecastle has always harboured a reputation as a notoriously inhospitable venue. The four stands seem to almost lean in towards the playing arena as if eavesdropping on a private conversation.
That intimacy, combined with the cacophany of noise that usually reverberates around the old place, has traditionally worked to Hearts' advantage.
Now, as they freefall down the Clydesdale Bank Premier League table losing match after match, it is they who approach each homecoming with a heightened sense of trepidation.
It is almost two months since Hearts last savoured victory at home and their supporters have not been slow to voice their displeasure.
Kilmarnock will first-foot Tynecastle this afternoon looking to turn that growing disenchantment to their advantage and arrest their own poor run of form.
Stevie Frail, Hearts' caretaker manager, knows his team must emerge from the tunnel with a positive attitude and hope to influence the supporters in a positive way if they are to emerge from their enduring slump.
"If there is a nervousness about playing at home then we need to get that out our heads right away." he said. "Because if we're like that it's pointless even turning up.
"If you're frightened of playing in front of your own fans then we're under pressure before the game even starts.
"Our fans will back us if we show the commitment levels that they would show if they were playing.
"We need to marry that commitment with everything that we did in the first hour against Dundee United on Wednesday. We're all here for Hearts and to make sure we do well for the club. It's not an individual thing - or it shouldn't be at this stage.
"We need to be as one and pulling in the right direction.
I have always felt we are close.
I targeted the five games over the Christmas period and we've lost four of them and we've got one to go.
"But I still feel we have the players here and if we get it right we can go places. At the minute we're a long way short of that but we need to keep working to make sure we can get there."
Frail, who revealed he will have an input in the appointment of a new manager, has become the public face of Hearts in recent months, regularly facing the media before and after each match.
He admits it has been a taxing time but that he has been able to call on plenty of support from myriad sources.
"I speak to John McGlynn regularly. I can speak to Craig Levein at any time and Tommy Craig offered me his advice too.
"I've got mates away from the game and the kids. You go home and unwind with them as best you can. It's very difficult as you can't keep taking it home with you.
"You have to make sure every day you come here you're fresh, focused and ready to get going."
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