Derek McInnes says the Hearts fans will play their part in helping the Jambos through the difficulties of what’s to come.
The men in maroon were hit with two huge injury blows in the last seven days, with both Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland being ruled out for 6-8 weeks.
During that time, Hearts will face Celtic, Rangers, Falkirk, Hibernian and have trips to Dundee United and St Mirren, before Aberdeen visit Tynecastle on the final day of February and McInnes admits the Hearts fans can be the difference and help the team through this period.
Asked at the pre-match press conference if the fans have a part to play, he replied: “Always”.
“The game when we beat Celtic 3-1, the atmosphere at Tynecastle was magnificent. It was such a brilliant occasion for us. There was a lot expected of us.
“It was probably one of those games where there was a lot of people, that maybe fancied hearts that day. But ultimately, we're still the underdog. In terms of what we pay in wages, in terms of transfer fees, for us to be in this position above both Rangers and Celtic takes a lot of people doing their jobs well.
“This isn't just down to a manager or a group of players. It's a whole club working together, and that includes the supporters.”
The Jambos suffered penalty heartache last weekend, and while McInnes acknowledged it was a sore one to take, attention quickly shifts back to league action and Sunday’s match against Celtic.
“I think when you lose a game on penalties, it should sting and it did sting.
“Last week took its toll, it was a big effort from everybody. I think sometimes when you play two games with ten men for so long, I do think mentally it takes a lot out of you as well as the physical aspect of it.
“Whether you cover the same distance, there's an argument I don't think, but in terms of what you're actually putting out and the mental strain. We tried to freshen the team up on Saturday and we've lost the game on penalties. We weren't good enough to win it in 90 minutes, we've got to say that, but we certainly didn't deserve to lose.
“When it goes to penalties, sometimes you can be on the wrong end of it and unfortunately for us that's been the case. If there's one good thing that can come out of it, and I'm not underplaying it, because I want us to be a strong cup team. I really believe that we can bring cup success here at Hearts, but I think it's going to be a few games less for us now and it lets us just focus on the remaining league games now.
“Every game goes by; the three points seem bigger than the previous one. There's no doubt when you're playing teams around you, regardless of if you're down at the bottom or at the top, if you can beat teams that are in and around you, it's a bit of extra significance.
“Each time we've played Celtic and Rangers, who are the closest teams to us, we've dealt with them and dealt with the games brilliantly. We're hoping that that can be the case again on Sunday.”
You can watch Derek’s press conference in full on Hearts TV.
