Derek McInnes admits he’s looking forward to his first experience of the Edinburgh Derby as much as his players, but explained the focus is still very much on working hard during the week.
Hearts host their rivals this Saturday for an evening kick-off under the lights and while the pre-match excitement continues to build, the head coach believes come kick-off, the game will take care of itself.
Speaking to the media at the pre-match press conference, he said:
“I've been at loads of Edinburgh derbies over the years, to watch the game as a manager or just watching the game just as a spectator, you enjoy that.
“I think everybody enjoys the noise, the matchday experience. But for us, on the professional side, it's about enjoying winning and it's important that we just focus on that.
“The build-up is the build-up and there's a lot more chatter about the game, naturally. But I must admit, at this moment in time, we're just nice and calm in our work this week.
“We’ve spoken to the players about things we did well on Saturday and the things we need to improve on. We'll speak about Hibs on Thursday and Friday, as we do with any opponent.
“Then the game will take care of itself, in terms of the atmosphere and the motivation part of it. We'll probably just need to make sure we keep a lid on the emotion on that side. It's important that we keep discipline, 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. Obviously, I'm looking forward to it as much as the players.”
McInnes isn’t the only person in the Hearts ranks who will be experiencing the fixture for the first time on Saturday, with numerous players enjoying their derby debuts, however the head coach insists everyone is well aware of what is at stake.
“I think they'll be well aware. The lads are all living in and around Edinburgh. So, they quickly get the gist of this game.
“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. I think in terms of preparing, we'll show clips of Hibs, and we'll look at clips of previous derbies in terms of just to try and get a wee flavour of it.
“But the lads aren’t daft. They'll realise what it means to the club and the supporters of both sets of players. Sometimes in these games, playing with too much emotion can cause you extra problems.
“You've just got to try and focus on the game. But these are the types of games that these boys will, when we sell the dream, we try to come to hearts. The package that we show and everything we try and sell; 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. So it's a brilliant game for everybody to look forward to, whether they've been here before or are new to it.”
You can watch Derek’s press conference in full on Hearts TV.
