Steven Naismith goes on a Hearts scouting mission ahead of Scottish Cup weekend

Monday's quarter-final with Morton is being given full attention

Steven Naismith insists Hearts must cope with hostility and humble surroundings at Cappielow Park if they want to prevail in the Scottish Cup. Monday's quarter-final trip to Championship side Morton, who knocked out Premiership opponents Motherwell in the last round, is fraught with potential danger and Naismith has a warning for his players.

The Tynecastle head coach visited Cappielow on a scouting mission earlier this week to watch Morton in action. They lost 1-0 to Dundee United on Monday evening and Naismith reported back to Riccarton on how Dougie Imrie's team are likely to play. He is also advising the Hearts squad to prepare for a tight and uneven pitch, old-fashioned facilities and opponents capable of a direct approach.

"First of all, there needs to be an understanding of the surroundings we are going in to," Naismith told the Edinburgh News. "The pitch is tight and, at this time of year, pitches aren't brilliant. The stadium and the fans can make it intimidating. We need to understand we are going to an old-fashioned football stadium that has a bit of character. It isn't as spacious as more modern stadiums but that's what we are going to get.

"Morton are a team that are quite direct, they also have the long-throw weapon and that has been really effective for them this season. They have some experience in their team who know when to play at the right moments and when to not risk it. They can create chances even when they aren't playing at their best.

"That comes from leaving players advanced on the pitch and happy to gamble with them not going back into their shape. Or it comes from being a bit more direct, winning the first contact and getting a chance from that. I think it will be a proper cup tie. Morton have had a few injuries recently but I imagine they will do all they can to get those injured players back on the pitch."

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Hearts favour a possession-based game under Naismith. Although the surface in Greenock may not be condusive to free-flowing football, the Tynecastle side intend to stick to their principles. "We won't deviate too much from that. The most important thing is to recognise the conditions," stressed the head coach.

"Even on Sunday against Celtic, at times when they had 10 men we had to keep the ball moving to draw them out to play through them. At other times, they decided they were going to be aggressive with their press, so we had to be more direct to beat the press and get the ball forward.

"There will be moments when we have good possession and we will hopefully have Morton deep in their half of the pitch. That's when we need to try to move the ball, there is no point being slow on it no matter what the conditions are. If there is space to play in, we have dangerous forwards who can be good with the ball through the pitch or in one-versus-ones."