Derek McInnes insists that anyone still doubting whether his Heart of Midlothian side has the resilience to thrive under the pressure of the Scottish title race simply hasn’t been paying attention. The Edinburgh club currently sits three points clear of defending champions Celtic at the top of the Premiership with only three matches left this season.
After Monday’s commanding victory that virtually ended third-place Rangers’ title aspirations, McInnes believes his team is in the driver’s seat, and their collective mindset is exactly where he wants it. “If anyone truly questions our mentality now, they haven’t been watching us,” the head coach stated.
“It goes without saying—no matter how this campaign finishes, you don’t reach 76 points with three games to go at Hearts without a strong mentality because the pressure here is real. There’s an expectation to win, and the players have answered that time and again.”
McInnes highlighted five wins against the Old Firm this season, three triumphs in four Edinburgh derbies with Hibernian, and an unbeaten home record as proof that “mentality has never been in doubt.” He maintains that the dressing room remains “pretty relaxed” despite the prospect of capturing the club’s first league title since 1960 and becoming the first non-Rangers or Celtic champion since 1985.
However, he acknowledged: “Usually, days off are a chance to switch off, but with the best intentions, it’s hard to do that right now, especially since there are very few training days left. We now have three games in a week that—based on everything we’ve done—will define how the season ends.”
Hearts could secure the title as early as Wednesday when they host Falkirk, but at worst, the race will go to a final-day showdown at Celtic Park. “We can’t get obsessed with all the different scenarios—what happens if we win this and they win that,” said McInnes, whose side visits fourth-placed Motherwell on Saturday night before Celtic hosts Rangers on Sunday.
“That’s not our focus; I have no time for that,” McInnes added. “The message to the players is simple: concentrate on trying to beat Motherwell. They haven’t beaten us this season, but they’ve been troublesome for most teams. In all three games against them, they could have beaten us, but we’ve done our job well enough for long enough to pick up points.”
McInnes was named PFA Scotland Manager of the Year on Sunday, calling it “an award for everyone” and crediting the support from sporting director Graeme Jones and coaches Paul Sheeran and Alan Archibald.
