Derek McInnes has confirmed his focus has shifted to Saturday’s match against Motherwell, following Monday’s victory over Rangers at Tynecastle Park.
The victory, secured with goals from Stephen Kingsley and Lawrence Shankland, kept Hearts three points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership. McInnes explained that the focus almost immediately shifted to the next match.
Quick Turnaround After Rangers Win
McInnes spoke about the need to quickly move on. “You enjoy the moment of winning. I think you’ve got to take the good from it. The most important part is just getting the result. I thought the second half performance was really strong.
“We get the three points, but it’s momentary. You get the feel-good factor in the dressing room and on the pitch after the game. But as soon as you have your shower after the game, it’s just about Motherwell and that’s the way it is.”
He added, “Every game becomes vitally important and the focus this week has been on that game now. We take the good from the Rangers game, and I think we remind the players about what we did well and what we didn’t do so well.”
Praise for Hearts Supporters
McInnes also praised the Hearts supporters. He noted the large away support expected at the weekend. “The supporters responded brilliantly to what was asked of them. There was still one or two without maroon on, right enough, but we’ll let them away with that! I think the supporters, speaking to a few people who went to the game, they arrived way before the game.”
“Everybody just wanted to try and play their part, and I thought they did that brilliantly. And obviously we’ve got a big support going at the weekend again. We look forward to our home games, and we’ve got to look forward to this one as well on Saturday.”
Anticipating a Tough Motherwell Challenge
McInnes is anticipating a difficult match against Motherwell. He acknowledged their quality, despite Hearts winning the previous encounter 3-1 at Tynecastle.
“I thought Motherwell were really good for 15-20 minutes in that game, really strong, and they carved us open a few times,” said McInnes.
“They’re a team who constantly test your organisation throughout the game.
“They can make little subtle tweaks and little different ways of playing that can maybe test your organisation. They will look a lot at how we press the game normally and they will try and counter that. I’m not the only opposition manager to sit down before you play Motherwell and say how well they’ve done.
“They’re a good team, well-coached, they’re a confident team. They look like a team who enjoy playing and what they’re being asked to do. So that goes without saying, but I think they’ve also got very good players.
“I sometimes think that gets left behind. It’s all about how well-coached they are and how they play and the style, but they’ve actually got really good i
The match will be played in Lanarkshire and broadcast on Sky Sports.