Gary Mackay: Hearts are reverting back to their DNA - and there's one tell-tale sign of a strong team

There is a DNA at Hearts and there always has been.

Hearts players Stephen Kingsley, Michael Smith and Josh Ginnelly all stood out against Dundee on Friday.

Go right back to the 1970s when we were a bit of a yo-yo club, there was always still a DNA within the team regarding attacking play.

The approach was always to go forward with natural attacking players, get balls into the box, create chances and score goals. Not only that, we had full-backs who got forward.

It's no coincidence that both our full-backs scored on Friday against Dundee – Michael Smith once and Stephen Kingsley twice.

Left-full-back was always a really strong position for Hearts, from Tosh McKinlay, Gary Naysmith, Takis Fyssas, Aaron Hickey and others. I think Kingsley could go on to be a really decent full-back as well.

Friday night gave a glimpse that we might be getting back to that attacking mindset under Robbie Neilson and it was a joy to watch.

A strong team is often indicated by who is left out and if you look at the subs' bench against Dundee, it was on a different level.

There were so many options with people like Andy Halliday, Peter Haring and Craig Wighton coming on. Steven Naismith is the club captain and he didn't even make an appearance, although he has had niggling injuries.

The guys not in the starting line-up then realise they have to show their mettle when they do get an opportunity.

There will be a bit of disappointment at the other end because we conceded twice, but if you score six goals in a game then it's very unlikely you will lose.

If Hearts are going at teams like they did against Dundee, then they will leave themselves a little bit open. They should still have enough to take care of the opponents they will come up against.

Positivity comes from results on the pitch and we're starting to see that with Hearts now. There was criticism during pre-season, things being said about different deals which were struck, but ultimately you are judged on results.

The performance and the amount of chances created against Dundee were excellent - and remember Dundee have one of the strongest squads in the division outwith Hearts.

Robbie said fans would see a different Hearts team this season and we have seen new faces and a change in style of play already.

Will that work elsewhere, with teams now certain to be less open against Hearts? We need to wait and see but I suspect there might need to be a bit more patience.

I was surprised how open Dundee were at Tynecastle and it certainly played right into our hands. I'm looking at other teams now. Will they be as open?

Hearts set such a high marker on Friday in terms of chances created, so it's another challenge if teams now decide to sit in a bit more given how Dundee fared.

I'm sure Robbie and the coaching staff will be up to the task, as will the players. Although I'm not as sure this Friday at Arbroath will be quite the same goal-fest.

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