Derek McInnes admitted that the atmosphere at Tynecastle was everything that he wished for as Hearts came from behind to edge Rangers on Monday, but he stressed: “The focus now is on Motherwell.”
The William Hill Premiership pace-setters visit Fir Park on Saturday (kick-off 8pm) looking for another three points to consolidate their position at the summit of the table, and McInnes admitted that the Fir Park side, coached by Jens Berthel Askou (picture by Ian Jacobs) could have beaten the Jambos this season.
Reflecting on the heady, 2-1 success over the Ibrox men, the head coach said you enjoy the moment of winning. He added that Tynecastle before, during and after the game last Monday was everything you want, but the most important part was just getting the result.
The head coach praised the second-half performance of his squad against the Ibrox side and added: “You get the feel good factor in the dressing-room after the game. As soon as you have your shower after the game it is all about Motherwell.
“Every game becomes vitally important. We take the good from the Rangers game and it is also a reminder to players about what we did well and what we did not do so well.”
McInnes said a big travelling support was expected in Lanarkshire and he said: “We look forward to this one on Saturday. They are (Motherwell) a team which tests your organisation throughout the game.
“They will look a lot about how we press the game normally and they will try to counter that and I am not the only opposition manager to sit before you play Motherwell and say how well they have done.
“They are a good team, well-coached, they are a confident team, and they look like a team who enjoy playing what they have been asked to do. They also have very good players and that gets left behind.”
Motherwell have won and lost in their two post-split games and sit fourth in the top six with 57 points. Hearts are top with 76 and have won their two post-split games. Both teams have played 35 fixtures.
Motherwell, said McInnes, have not beaten Hearts this season, but they have been problematic for the Jambos and other teams. To underlined that, Motherwell shocked Rangers 3-2 at Ibrox.
However, The Steelmen were edged 1-0 at Falkirk on Saturday, Cartwright doing the damage after 63 minutes, and McInnes admitted: “We must be honest and say they could have beaten us in all three of the (previous) games, but we have managed to do the job well enough for long enough to pick up points against them.”
The head coach warned: “This game will be tough again for loads of reasons. You have to be so on point on your out-of-possession work because, if you are not, they are the type of team that can punish you. That is what happens when you have good teams and well-coached teams.”
