Derek McInnes rallied his Hearts squad, urging them to maintain their momentum as they stand on the brink of a historic achievement.
After trailing by a goal at halftime, Hearts staged a remarkable comeback to secure a 2-1 victory over Rangers at the electrifying Tynecastle Park. This triumph solidified their top position in the league standings.
With just three matches remaining in the season, Hearts hold a three-point lead over Celtic and are now seven points clear of Rangers.
When questioned about what it will take to clinch their first league title since 1960, McInnes emphasized the necessity of sustained performance throughout each game.
“If we perform like we did in the second half, we’re a formidable force,” he remarked.
Derek McInnes says Hearts will be hard to stop if they play like they did in the second half
“However, if we replicate our first-half play, we risk dropping points,” he cautioned, highlighting the importance of consistent effort.
‘Seventy-six points for a Hearts team is a remarkable number with three games to go. I’m so proud of what the players have given us. I think it might be our record points tally.
‘It’s good that you’ve come from behind because you know it’s under the bonnet, you know it’s there.
‘But if we can’t keep doing that. Obviously, next weekend we play before Rangers and Celtic, but it’s another pivotal weekend.
‘So, it’s exciting for Scottish football, so exciting for our club to be where we are.
‘But like I said a few weeks back, I’m not here to get a pat on the back for good old Hearts putting up a fight. It’s way beyond that now. We’ve got to try and go and win it now.’
Second best in the first half, McInnes’ side were transformed in the second period, turning the game on its head through goals from Stephen Kingsley and Lawrence Shankland.
Striker Lawrence Shankland scores the decisive goal in a 2-1 win over Rangers at Tynecastle
‘There’s no straightforward games,’ said the manager. ‘Credit to the players. They’ve dug that out.
‘I was annoyed with a lot of what we had in the first half. It’s understandable, maybe, given the enormity of the situation, but thankfully the second-half performance was far more like what we’d been all season.
‘Half-time couldn’t have come quick enough for us to make changes because it wasn’t a change of system in the second half, it was a change of mindset, it was a change of approach and a wee reminder to them that they don’t get top of the league by turning up and playing the way they did in the first half.
‘The team’s been at the top end of the league a few weeks now and I think there’s a reason for that. We needed to go and be better than what Rangers were in the first half.
‘I thought we were, in terms of spirit, in terms of goal attempts, pressure, asking the question a wee bit more and putting a bit more stress on their back line and their goalkeeper and thankfully it paid off.’
Hearts will finally take Rangers out of the equation if they win at Fir Park but McInnes insists he’s not yet counting out Danny Rohl’s men.
‘I’d never say that,’ he insisted. ‘Rangers are capable of winning the next three games. The onus is on us to still win games as ever.
‘Of course, I wouldn’t say that. I think it makes it difficult, but I wouldn’t be giving it up if I was in their position. Every team has got something to play for.’
Hearts could win the title by beating Falkirk at home in the penultimate game if they win at Motherwell and Celtic fail to beat Rangers.
Adamant that he’s anticipating the race going down to the final game, McInnes said: ‘I’m preparing for that. I think we have to think that way.
Shankland and Alexandros Kyziridis celebrate the goal that put Hearts three points clear
‘It’s a big week now. We’ve got three games in a week. We’ve got to dust ourselves down and see how we go in terms of how the lads are feeling. I know I’ve said it before, hopefully we can get Cammy (Devlin) and Harry (Milne) back for Saturday.
‘It will deserve full attention again. We’re in a good position, but we’re only in a good position if we continue to win games.’
McInnes was asked what he’d have said back in August if someone suggested that his side would be closing in on the title with three games left.
‘I think it would have been foolish to think that you could get to where we’ve got to,’ he said.
‘You would never have expected that. I said I wanted 18 wins as quickly as possible to guarantee Europe and thankfully we got that a while back.
‘The whole club has a lot of positivity about it, but we know the main driver of the club is the first team and it’s important that we try and keep trying to do our job well for a wee bit.’
