Steven Naismith has praised his Hearts side for showing patience and doing the right things in their 1-0 victory over Ross County.
The Staggies were a hard nut to crack on their own patch in Dingwall and Hearts had the majority of possession without the end product for large spells of the match.
The winning goal finally arrived on 70 minutes thanks to Alan Forrest. The winger combined with fellow sub Alex Lowry to head home what turned out to be the winning goal in front of a jubilant away end.
Speaking to Hearts TV at full-time, Naismith said: “I’m really happy.
"We knew it was going to be a tricky game. We know they are a decent team who are well coached and well organised.
“They have a threat going forward but on top of that, it was a very professional performance from us. We never looked like losing a goal. In the first half, we were maybe slightly slow in our attacking play but as the game went on and we became more comfortable.
“Then in the second half, I was pleased that we had a good period that we had Ross County camped in and we were patient, we made the right choices and were waiting for that moment and then it came at a really good time for us.
“We can’t win the game in the first minute. We need to work teams and move them about so then we can kill them in the moments that they are vulnerable.
“That is something that everyone at the club needs to understand. It is about managing the game properly so that when those chances come, you take them.
“The derby is a great game. The atmosphere is great. In the last one, we did well to get a result under difficult circumstances, the fans got behind us and it was a great day.
“The bigger picture is you need results to build momentum. We want to play a certain way, that is a work-in progress. As long as we can keep picking up results, while we’ve got a lot of injuries, and the team is growing that is the most pleasing aspect.
“The two results this week help us going into the derby. But we go into that like we do any other game, expecting to win, wanting to win and we will do everything we can to win."
