Derek McInnes expects Hearts to face a Dundee side who are feeling on top of the world, following a Dundee Derby victory at Tannadice last time out.
The league leaders travel to Dens this Sunday for a 2pm kick-off in front of the Sky Sports cameras and the head coach has asked his players for more of the same in the city of Discovery.
Speaking to the media at the pre-match press conference, McInnes said:
“Sometimes in this league, you come up against teams who are in poor form, like Livingston, going into last Saturday's game, but they were still competitive, then you play Dundee, who are on a really good run of form, particularly after a Derby win.
“When you've got that city rivalry and they win a Derby game, they'll be feeling brilliant about themselves going into the game. So we're well aware that that's an added difficulty for us and an added plus for them.
“Very rarely do you get straightforward, run-of-the-mill games. There's a lot on each game and from our point of view, we just need to meet that head-on. I just want every game to mean more than the last one and to do that, we need to keep winning.
“From our point of view, we just want a bit more of the same. The players are confident, I'm enjoying, what I'm getting from them. It's important we search for those improvements and just keep calm with our work.”
The Jambos kickstarted 2026 with three points at home to Livingston last weekend and McInnes is keen for his side to continue to build and improve in the second half of the season.
“I want us to meet the expectations of the support here and in time exceed those expectations. I don't think there's anybody at Hearts who's uncomfortable with where we are.
“We're exactly where we want to be. We've been top of the league now for over three months. It was back at the end of September where we went top of the league. This isn't just a little run of form. It isn't just a little spell. It's something more than that.
“It's something substantial. The test for us now is to try and build on it. If we just stand still and if we just make do and be pleased with our work up until now, we're not going to get the outcome that we want.
“For us to keep improving is key for us to keep going. We had 12 wins and two defeats in the first half of the season. We started the second half of the season with a win on Saturday, but Saturday was top against bottom.
“It wasn’t until the 95th minute and the referee blew his whistle that we could take a breath and win the game. Every game is a challenge, but we take confidence that we know that every time we play a team, they aren’t going to get it easy and we're in a fight for a game."
You can watch Derek’s press conference in full on Hearts TV.
