Motherwell manager Alfred Johansson believes fine margins have cost his side during a five-game losing run.

After a bright start to the season, the Steelmen have faltered, with last weekend's 3-2 defeat at Kilmarnock continuing a slide down the Scottish Premiership table.

"It is not too simplistic [for one result to turn the season] because sometimes it's like that, football is a game of margins," Johansson said.

"When we played Falkirk at home, if we had a little bit more of the margins to our side than we would have won 1-0.

"If we had the margins a little bit more against us away to Hibs, then maybe we draw instead of win that game.

"And similarly in Killie, if we execute better in some moments, offensive and defensive, then we win that game.

"So it is not too simplistic because these things they tend then to create emotions in players, and belief and energy.

"I am super impressed with the energy of the boys in the training ground at the moment, but still, you want to get paid [with results]."

Motherwell are next in action on Sunday against Hearts, who have lost their past two outings against Celtic and Trabzonspor and are suffering an injury crisis.

"They are aggressive and are high pressing man-to-man," Johansson said of Wouter Vrancken's side. "They are strong in the combinations to go forward.

"You can see they have got a coach from abroad that focuses in some of these things. I think they have been doing really well.

"They have been quite solid defensively in the league, apart from the Celtic game, so I think we will come up against a good team that will try to be themselves at Fir Park."