Hearts' McInnes Reflects on Derby Defeat and Future Plans
Derek McInnes acknowledges that his Hearts team is not Barcelona, but he understands what is required for them to maintain a challenge for the Scottish Premiership title.
A tumultuous 3-2 derby loss to Hibernian marked only the second league defeat for the leaders in their 19 matches this season.
Despite a spirited attempt to rally, McInnes expressed disappointment that his players failed to execute the fundamentals effectively, allowing themselves to fall three goals behind at Easter Road on Saturday.
The Hearts manager stated that his squad must take ownership of the painful experience in Leith, while also emphasizing his determination not to lose perspective following a disappointing outing.
“We reach the top of the league not by pretending to be Barcelona or anything we are not; it’s about executing the basics well in our games,” the 54-year-old told BBC Scotland. “If you neglect the basics, it doesn’t matter how skilled you are or how well you’ve been performing; you will inevitably face a setback.”
“In the second half, we demonstrated a more typical performance for us. It’s two defeats in 19 matches; if we were to have two defeats in the next 19, we would consider it an outstanding season,” he added. “We will not lose our composure at this moment. We understand why we lost this game.”
Transfer Plans and Maintaining Focus: Hearts' Response
The defeat in Leith allowed Celtic to close the gap at the top to three points, following their chaotic victory at Livingston. Wilfried Nancy’s side still has a game in hand and could potentially overtake Hearts on goal difference by the time they play again on January 3.
However, McInnes is confident that his players will not be discouraged by the loss to their city rivals. Following a demanding stretch of fixtures, a more favorable schedule lies ahead for Hearts.
They have a week off before facing the bottom-placed Livingston, followed by a trip to Dundee, and then a home match against St Mirren.
Positive outcomes in these matches would set McInnes’ side up well for the highly anticipated encounter against Celtic at Tynecastle at the end of January.
“You never want to lose a derby, and we feel for the fans. However, this defeat will not disrupt our focus for the upcoming games,” McInnes stated. “I trust these players. They have earned my confidence, but we must acknowledge that we made things more difficult for ourselves today.”
McInnes is also looking forward to potential winter signings, with Kazakhstan winger Islam Chesnokov expected to join in the coming days. He is hopeful for “some good news” regarding one or two additional signings.
“We aim to equip ourselves in the best way possible,” McInnes added. “Expectations have risen. As I mentioned when I first arrived, we wanted to meet the expectations of our supporters and hopefully exceed them. Now that these expectations are set, we must continue to perform well.”