SNS GroupDerek McInnes has told his Hearts players they should all be envisaging themselves lifting the Premier Sports Cup in December as they prepare to visit St Mirren in the second round on Saturday.
The recently-appointed manager is eager to lead the Jambos to silverware for the first time since they won the Scottish Cup in 2012.
While acknowledging they could have been handed an easier tie than a trip to the Buddies, McInnes sees no reason why his buoyant side should not have their eye on landing the League Cup for the first time since 1962.
“I’ve said this to them a few times now, there’s not one player that should have signed for Hearts without having that aspiration, I hope, to win a trophy here,” he said.
“A fundamental part of signing for a club like Hearts should be that you want to be successful and lift silverware. That’s what we all want. There’s nothing wrong with saying that, I don’t think you’re setting yourself up for a fall.
“If we don’t win the cup, it doesn’t mean to say we were wrong to say it. But we do believe that we’re good enough to go the full way and there’s no point in believing otherwise.
“There’s nothing wrong with setting those lofty ambitions and seeing the end game. I think we’ve all got to try and imagine that day at Hampden, and I say that to the players, we’ve got to try and picture that while we’re getting through the League Cup games.
“I’m well aware that for a club like Hearts, we’re looking for more cup success over a period of time. And there’s probably been a bone of contention and frustration with that among the supporters, such is the demand here.
“If we can get through this one, we’re 90 minutes away from a semi-final. I want us to be in that position where we can get to a final.”
McInnes praised the impact of new set-piece coach Ross Grant, with Hearts having won all six of their competitive matches this term and having scored from set-pieces in each of them.
“Set-plays have always been a huge part for any team,” said McInnes. “I worked for certain managers who were obsessed with it and I worked for managers who didn’t bother with it and I’ve seen the difference.
“There’s a lot of clubs so finely balanced in this league and sometimes set-plays can be the difference.
“We’ve brought in Ross to aid us with that and be specific with that and it’s his job to look forensically at the opposition, what they do and where we can get some gains on that.
“Underneath it all, since day dot, set-pieces are about good delivery, good timing and aggressive players wanting to get on the end of it. But I’m glad we’ve got Ross, he’s been a huge value to us.
“We’ve got that added time and added focus on it really from Ross and he’s done brilliant.”
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