Derek McInnes: New Hearts players know how important Edinburgh derby is

Derek McInnes has no worries about Hearts’ summer recruits being under-prepared for the intensity of their first Edinburgh derby because they have been steadily drip-fed information highlighting the importance of the fixture since the moment they first entered signing talks with the club.

The Jambos will have the chance to go five points clear of Celtic at the top of the William Hill Premiership – overnight at least – if they can hold their nerve on what promises to be a frenzied Saturday evening at Tynecastle and defeat city rivals Hibernian.

While Hearts can call on several Edinburgh derby veterans, there are others – such as Alexander Schwolow, Oisin McEntee, Stuart Findlay, Harry Milne, Alexandros Kyziridis and Claudio Braga – who will be playing in it for the first time.

“The lads are all living in and around Edinburgh so they quickly get the gist of this game,” said McInnes, who is also gearing up for his first experience of the fixture since becoming the Jambos’ boss in May.

“They’ve been getting told for months now since they’ve been here that you need to win this game, so I think they’re well aware of the importance of it.

“In terms of preparing, we’ll show clips of Hibs and we’ll look at clips of previous derbies just to try and give a wee flavour of it. But the lads aren’t daft. They’ll realise what it means to the club and the supporters.

“These are the types of games that these boys, when we sell the dream, when we try to get them to come to Hearts, the package that we show and everything we try and sell it, there’s footage of derby games in that.

“You’ve got to try and get them intrigued and get them wanting to experience these types of games. And who wouldn’t? It’s a brilliant game for everybody to look forward to, whether they’ve been here before or are new to it.

“I’ve been at loads of Edinburgh derbies over the years, watching the game as a manager or just as a spectator, and you enjoy that. I think everybody enjoys the noise, the match-day experience, but for us on the professional side, it’s about enjoying winning, and it’s important that we just focus on that.

“It’s important that we keep disciplined, keep 11 men on the pitch, but obviously thrive on the game. We’re not going to try and dilute it.

“We want to promote these types of games, and it’s a brilliant game to be involved in.”

With Celtic not playing until Sunday, Hearts have the chance to open up a five-point advantage over the champions, but defender Stephen Kingsley insisted talk of a potential title challenge from the Jambos “certainly hasn’t been taken seriously in our changing room”.

“We know that we’re in a good place but if you start thinking about title challenges and that, I think that’s a slippery slope, so, for us, absolutely everything’s focused on Hibs just now,” he said.

“It’s good that the supporters are excited, that tells you we’re doing something right but you need to continue to do that to keep that energy and that vibe going.

“It’s a contrast to last season anyway, the atmosphere and the vibe about the place, so they can enjoy themselves as much as they want but it’s up to us to maintain it.”