In the cauldron of Tynecastle Park, it was the calm head of Stuart Findlay that sent the Jambos on their way to back-to-back wins over rivals Rangers, and for the Hearts defender, the latest victory is a “testament” to the hard work of his teammates and manager.
Speaking to the media at full-time, Findlay was “satisfied” with his side’s 12th league win of the season.
“We knew how much was on the game today. There was no getting away from that. Rangers have been slowly chipping away with wins every week, and we knew they were going to be a difficult game. They’ve not lost an away game in over a year. We were under no illusions about how hard it was going to be.”
“I thought we weathered the first 10, 15 minutes, they came out, probably the better side to start with. But we knew we would get our moments. Thankfully, I was able to pop up with the header and then Shanks does what Shanks does”
Derek McInnes’s side have won three straight games, after a winless run had reduced their lead at the summit of the Scottish Premiership. Findlay believes the performances hint at the “mentality” of the squad.
“We thrive in big games. I think we’ve shown that in all the big games so far, we’ve managed to show up with the performances to beat Celtic home and away, to beat Rangers home and away. It’s not easy to do, no matter what Celtic Rangers are going to show up. And it’s a testament to the boys in there that we’ve been able to do that.
“We believe in ourselves, that’s a big thing. We come into these games with pure belief that we can get the victory”.
Findlay was quick to point out the work ethic of his teammates, including another exemplary performance from captain Lawrence Shankland.
“You’ve seen Lawrence lose the ball at the top end of the pitch and come back and make a tackle in the final third. You’ve got a midfield three of Cammy, Oisin, and Thomas, who will cover every blade for you. There wasn’t a guy on the park today who was a passenger. Every single person stood up and was counted. I’m so proud of all the boys in there.”
Whispers of a title charge continue to gather pace for the Jambos, but Stuart advised that the dressing room refuse to be drawn into such talk.
“We’ve reached the expectations of the fans by winning the majority of the games. I can’t stress enough that’s what we need to just keep doing. We just need to keep looking ahead to the next game.”
“The title thing, as I said 100 times, I’ll let other people talk about that. We just want to make sure we have dusted that one off, and now it’s a massive Derby that we need to try and get another win.”
High-performing partnerships are plentiful across the Hearts team. But perhaps none more effective than Findlay and Craig Halkett, who missed the game through injury.
“Craig’s been an absolutely huge part for us this season. We were all sort of gutted that he couldn’t make it today. The boys did him proud, and we got a really good result.”
“He was delighted for me (for scoring). As soon as I went in, he was the first guy who came up to me.”
The Jambos return to league action at Easter Road on Saturday, in another formidable test for Derek McInnes’ side.
