Alexander Schwolow is expecting a tough battle when Livingston visit Tynecastle for the first game of 2026.
The German was impressed with the Lions’ showing against Celtic last weekend and isn’t fooled by their position at the foot of the Premiership table.
Speaking to the media at the pre-match press conference, he said:
“It will be a tough battle. A lot of the games we won have also been very tight. So, we have to fight in every game, and we will also have to fight on Saturday. Livi right now are at the bottom of the league, and they have to get points, so we have to be ready for that as well. I saw the first half versus Celtic, they have threatening players and we need to be aware of that.”
The stopper has played his part in what has been a successful first half of the season for the Jambos, who start 2026 at the top of the table, something Schwolow could not have imagined when arriving in Gorgie.
“I'm enjoying it so far", he continued. “The first four months have been great. Especially after the last two years, where I didn't play so much. I hope we can just continue the path which we're going right now. I enjoy coming to work every day. That's how it should be.
“You could not expect us to be where we are right now and to win as many games as we have, but we have to just continue the way we are, in order to keep enjoying it.
“We have to be sure that other teams are going to win their games. We just have to focus on making sure we win our games. We couldn't win the last game, which is not good, especially because it was a derby.
“We wanted to win so badly, but we have the next chance on Saturday. That's all we focus on now.
“That’s how we got the winning streak in October, November, that's what we need. We need those winning streaks and hopefully we have a better day, and we can beat Livi on Saturday at home.”
You can watch Alex’s press conference in full on Hearts TV.
