Derek McInnes respects David Martindale and what he is trying to achieve with Livingston, but Hearts’ head coach is determined to take three points from the Home of the Set Fare Arena when the Jambos visit on Saturday (15.00) on William Hill Premiership business.
That would move the Gorgie men onto ten points from their first four league games and keep them near the top of the 12-strong league.
McInnes said: “I have a lot of time for Davie and what he has done, and I have a lot of time for Livingston as a club. They had a tough season last time out in the Premier League, they re-set in the Championship, and that is the beauty of the championship, a lot of teams go down and come back up and have been galvanised.
“I like what he (David) does, he gets good performances from good players and he has changed their set-up and he is enjoying the new pitch as well.”
McInnes acknowledged that Martindale has signed a lot of experienced players for the club, nicknamed The Lions, and trusts in those players coming up to the top division.
He said: “I think there is good togetherness there, a team which wins promotion, there is normally good spirit amongst them, so it will be a tough game for us, but we are taking over 5,000 fans and we want to try and pinch this little group of games off. Going into the international break with ten points out of 12 would be good work.”
It is important that his side keeps carrying the same goal threat but not giving opportunities away, and he wants to see a mor solid defensive display from the Men in Maroon. That means not giving other sides encouragement.
The head coach added: “If we can do that, then hopefully we can win the game.”
Looking back at last weekend’s 3-3 thriller against Motherwell, when Hearts rallied from 3-0 down to snatch a point, McInnes said he was delighted with the way his men finished the game and conceded: “We were in a tough situation and they deserve so much credit. We had a mountain to climb and we nearly climbed it.”
The players were relentless, he said, and kept going and McInnes added: “We created three times as many chances as Motherwell but it was a difficult afternoon. I think Motherwell are capable of doing that to teams.”
The Steelmen are a good side and McInnes added: “We don’t expect to get it all our own way but we did not expect to be in the situation we were in. In terms of response, it is good to know I have that in the dressing-room.”
The object, going forward, is to get in front and not make the task difficult. McInnes confirmed he is still looking for consistency.
Having a settled team will be important moving forward but the new boss is happy that his men have scored eight goals in three league games.
He said: “There is a good thing going with the players, there is a real spirit, a real togetherness, and we are trying to work towards getting better performance so we can make games like that a little easier.”
It was, however, important that a Hearts team plays with an element of risk and he feels that, as a squad, they are a little “too safe” at times.
He added: “We need to be a bit more committed to what we are doing and to taking the right options.”
THE LIONS DEN: That’s where Hearts travel to on Saturday to face Livingston. Picture Nigel Duncan
