SPFL Premiership unbeaten run goes on the line in Paisley

There is calm inside Hearts following a fateful few days in Scottish football. They moved eight points clear at the top of the Premiership by beating Celtic on Sunday, contributing to Brendan Rodgers’ resignation and Martin O’Neill’s return to Glasgow’s east end. That’s a week after Danny Rohl took charge of a mid-table Rangers team. The traditional Glasgow giants are in turmoil, meanwhile there is stability in Edinburgh.

Derek McInnes is busy going about his work at Riccarton as players prepare for Wednesday’s visit to St Mirren. Their unbeaten league record goes on the line again after a tumultuous win over the reigning champions at Tynecastle Park. That emotive fixture may have left some involved feeling drained, but when you lead the table it is easier to re-energise. If there is tension, no-one at Hearts is feeling it.

McInnes spoke to the Edinburgh News about his own emotions, how he handles others’ excitement, and why he will change a winning team over the next two matches. “I feel alright. I feel good,” he said. “You always hope you can win, and I felt if we put in the performance we were capable of then we could win on Sunday. I'm quite calm to be honest with the fact we won. I'm pleased the players got the reward for their work because we had to work for that. We were the better team, our attacking threat was better, we defended better than them, and we got the three points.

“I'm delighted we won a game which had a lot of focus on it, and I understand that. It was good for us in terms of belief and confidence, if we ever needed it. We started like a confident team and we came off the pitch a confident team. I think that's important. If Celtic win on Sunday, then you get plaudits but there are maybe people out there who would say: 'Ah well, when it came to it they just couldn't quite do it.' I get that and I know that they are out there. I can tell when people speak. Celtic provide the toughest test, normally, for any team, and we managed to overcome that. I thought we deserved it.”

McInnes divulged his exact message to the Hearts players during pre-match talks as he sought to keep his team composed in the heat of battle. “I said to them: 'I'm not asking you to run any more, I'm not asking you to try any harder, I'm not asking you to be any more motivated. I just want you to deal with the game. We are exactly where we want to be in the league, we are exactly where we deserve to be, and it's just a case of a bit more of the same. We understand that, at times, we might need to give up some possession, but as long as we control where that possession is then we'll be fine. We will have our moments in the game to cause them problems.'

“Other than a 15 or 20-minute spell in the first half, we dealt with that. We had a couple of good saves from Alex [Schwolow, goalkeeper], but that’s what Alex has done. He's been quietly effective. There have been some games where he's had to come up with moments, but that's what he's there for. You want your keeper to make the saves you expect from them. For us, there's no real surprise that he made the saves because we see him day in and day out.”

McInnes pretty much switched attention to St Mirren the moment Sunday’s final whistle sounded. Stephen Robinson’s side knocked Hearts out of the Premier Sports Cup on penalties in August and therefore are the only team to defeat the Tynecastle club this season. McInnes has named the same starting line-up for the last five games, and been rewarded with five wins and just one goal conceded. There may be changes in Paisley. If not, expect some at home to Dundee on Saturday.

“We trained the boys who didn't start against Celtic right after the game. They were out working on a session on the pitch,” said McInnes. “Right after the game, I'm thinking about Wednesday. It's the first time we've really had three games in six days. There's the importance of utilising the squad. We've had a good run at it in terms of week-to-week, plus international breaks in between, and that has allowed us to go with the same team.

“I do think we will find that, over the next couple of games, that would not be the right thing to do. If we are going to talk about the importance of the squad and I see how players are training, then these next two games are an opportunity to tap into that. I need to try to keep the freshness and the impetus. When we play with energy, that allows a better performance.”

One player striving to catch his manager’s eye is Icelandic midfielder Tomas Magnusson, signed from Valur Reykjavik in August. Another is Michael Steinwender. The likes of Blair Spittal, Alan Forrest and Jamie McCart have also shown up well in training. Since his only Hearts start in that cup loss against Wednesday’s opponents, Magnusson has made a welcome habit of cameo substitute appearances suitably timed to let him join in winning celebrations at full-time. The latest of those was against Celtic. He looked sharp and confident in a brief 10-minute outing.

“Yeah, he was good,” agreed McInnes. “He's itching to go, desperate to go. He did very well when he came on. It was also good to get Ageu on the park. A lot of eyes are going to be on him. He was unlucky not to score. All these little things, drip-feeding minutes into these boys who have had scarce game time, is important. But yeah, Magnusson was very good. We see him every day in training and we know what he's capable of. The only thing he lacks at the minute is a bit of experience.”