'Turn it against them' - Hearts boss talks of momentum ahead of St Mirren clash

Steven Naismith won't shy away from the tough game St Mirren are set to provide

Hearts will shortly be back at Tynecastle and they are set to receive an exceptionally warm welcome following their win over Celtic last weekend.

A triumphant display from the Jambos saw Lawrence Shankland and Stephen Kingsley end the Hoops 52-game unbeaten home streak in the league and Steven Naismith will now hope his side can continue to deliver in time for Christmas as they take on St Mirren.

The winner of this fixture will find themselves in a more secure spot behind Celtic and Rangers with greater chance of securing a European conference League place but Naismith knows that the Buddies will not provide an easy game. The Jambos will need to dig deep and ride the momentum wave from last week's win if they are to be successful against Steven Robinson's side.

"When you’re winning games, momentum comes for sure, that’s the plus,” he told the media ahead of the game. “From being at the club for a while it’s always been something we wanted – to compete in those big games. We’re making good strides and the more you do it, the easier it gets.

“Every game we’re looking to win. It’s going to be tough because we’re into a tight period where we’re going to need to use the squad. Games are tight because we’re playing teams around about us. We need to focus on ourselves. We’re in a good place right now, but if we keep winning, we can be in an even better position."

The last time the two sides faced each other was the fateful day of Nathaniel Atkinson's injury at Paisley in which the home side won 1-0 and now Hearts will be looking to return the favour.

"For St. Mirren, I think they fall into a category where they’ve had a few tough results here and there. It’s been tight margins, but they’ve got an experienced manager who’s done as good a job as anybody this season.

“They’re very well drilled. Watch any of their games and you can see every player understands their role perfectly. They’ll be a very tough opponent tomorrow. We’ve got to take the positives from our first game against them this season.

“We had a lot of possession against them, and the goal came from our mistake. We had issues in the final third but now we’re at home and have a chance to turn it against them."