Robbie Neilson issues Hearts warning after Arbroath spying mission

After spying on Arbroath last weekend, the Hearts manager Robbie Neilson has warned his players to be wary ahead of their imminent visit to Gayfield Park.

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson watched Arbroath last weekend.

Anything other than a Hearts victory on Friday night would be regarded as a surprise following their 6-2 destruction of Dundee at Tynecastle Park in the Championship’s opening fixture.

However, Neilson wants to guard against any potential complacency on the back of four successive wins – three in the Betfred Cup prior to the defeat of Dundee.

He spent Saturday at Stark’s Park watching Raith Rovers beat Arbroath 3-0 and has compiled a detailed evaluation of Dick Campbell’s team.

A number of Hearts players will experience Gayfield and its accompanying North Sea wind for the first time, and Neilson stressed it is not an environment to take lightly.

“Arbroath away is always tough. Dick has kept the nucleus of his team together since they won League One quite convincingly,” he told the Evening News.

“They have that bond in the team but also that continuity because they all know each other really well.

“I went to watch them against Raith on Saturday and they had a difficult result, but it's hard to read too much into it because they had been up at Ross County the previous Tuesday night in the Betfred Cup.

“Their players wouldn't have got back until one or two o'clock in the morning, then they need to go to work the next day. It's very difficult to judge them in their next game. I expect a very different match on Friday.”

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