Derek McInnes admitted that he was happy with the season so far, but he is not getting carried away.
Since the first day back at testing the players, he said, had been fully committed. Saturday’s 3-0 win over Sunderland followed the club’s winning campaign in the Premier Sports Cup and the head coach said that his men put in a really strong performance.
Yes, Hearts are ahead of the English side in preparation for the new season, but McInnes told the media: “They (Sunderland) have spent about £100m in transfers, they are a team used to winning, they have come up from the Championship because they have good players.
“It was important for us to try and take a step forward and not be cowed by playing against good players, to take that challenge on.”
McInnes (pictured by Nigel Duncan) settled on a selection which he felt could nullify Sunderland’s threat and he added: “I was pleased with the commitment and we scored some very good goals.”
Claudia Braga headed home after 11 minutes, Lawrence Shankland netted via a deflection in 62 minutes and Alexandros Kyziridis took advantage of a defensive mistake to tap in with 85 minutes on the clock.
The result means that Hearts have scored 19 goals with only one in reply during the Premier Sports Cup ties and Saturday’s Testimonial for Craig Gordon.
Now, the focus is on Aberdeen on Monday, August 4 (20.00) at Tynecastle, the club’s first fixture in the William Hill Premiership.
