Derek McInnes says his Hearts team will go to Ibrox with confidence for Saturday’s William Hill Scottish Premiership encounter.
The Jambos resume league duty following an international break, sitting joint top of the league.
The Head Coach is happy to let others do the talking about the boys in maroon’s long-term prospects, but one thing he is certain of is that his side will travel west with the confidence required to get a positive result.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference today, he said: “I'm confident, the players have got to feel confident. I've got decisions to make and maybe set one or two positions, but regardless of what team we land on, I expect us to be really competitive, I expect us to be good enough to get a result, and it's important that the players feel that.
“As I say, I do think when you go to Rangers that you've got to have that personality and confidence and arrogance about you that you can get a result, because Rangers, despite the difficult start that was mentioned, they've got good players, there's significant investment being put into the team, and I think in time that will prove dividends.
“In terms of the Scottish Premiership, that's a lot of investment, and we've just got to really concentrate on ourselves rather than being too focused on ‘well, they're not quite at their best’ or whatever, whether they're flying or not.
“We're four games in. I think regardless of the results, if we win the game then that's only going to amplify and everybody's going to be saying a bit more of that. You can't really affect what people think and say, whether it's good or not. If we lose the game, it's not going to change either, so I just think we've got to see it for what it is. It's 90 minutes, we've got to try and go there and be as good as we can be.
“I think if we can get to our capabilities, we can get a result, and it's important that we try and show that.”
Two players Derek will be without the services of on Saturday are Frankie Kent and Ageu. Both have picked up injuries recently and will miss the trip along the M8.
“Unfortunately, we picked up a couple of injuries,” he said. “Frankie Kent twisted his knee yesterday in training. He's got a scan, we'll get the results of that, hopefully, tomorrow morning. But he'll be out for Saturday and we just hope it's nothing too significant.
“Ageu felt his hamstring last Monday. We hoped we'd put some work into him in that international break and we were unable to do so. Monday, Tuesday, he was still feeling a wee bit of tightness, so we sent him for a scan. Unfortunately for us, I don't know when he's done it, but he's got a hamstring that needs to be attended to and looked after. So, he won't be part of anything for the next couple of games.
“The only benefit for him and Frankie is the fact that the games are a bit spread out over the next period, the three games. So, disappointed for both lads.”
Derek’s press conference is available to watch in full on Hearts TV.
